


Titans Among Us

by Rinichey



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Adventure, All hail the light, Blood, Brainwashing, By far the oddest relationship I've ever written, Gore, Limey as hell, Lots of killing, M/M, Magic, Saving the World, Season 12: Theia Strikes Back, Sex scenes not shown, Very violent yet loving relationship, Violence, lots of action
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:50:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16269296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinichey/pseuds/Rinichey
Summary: It's been two years since Brian awoke and took up life in Monstropolis. He's got a good circle of friends, a loving boyfriend, and a fulfilling future ahead of him. That is until a face from his past comes back to threaten his entire way of life...





	1. Reborn

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So this story has been through plot hell and has been revised several times in my journey to tell this tale. I really wanted to do a Brian story for the longest time and while it's definitely going to stray from the normal high-school antics I hope you'll join me for the ride. This story might have long breaks in between updates, but only because my primary focus is with TSwL at the moment. Still, I hope you enjoy what I have to show and let me know what you guys think!
> 
> Also, while the story doesn't show any sex, I'm putting it as explicit for what I do show later on in the story. You'll know what I mean by chapter 2.

What is it like to have your first thoughts be that of someone else’s will instilled upon you? How does it feel when the first sensation you experience is that of splintering wood and cold compressed dirt? To successfully tear apart the confinements of your prison and pull yourself through layers of compounded earth against gravity, until your hand finally grasps nothing and the cold air embraces it?

For him, his first memory was that. The memories afterward were hazy and foggy. He recalled a female voice and a few choice words like _obey_ and _destroy_. He scarcely remembered his body moving of its own accord to grab unidentifiable objects and throw them at things. Warm wet sprinkles of liquid painted his cheek and soaked his hands, yet onwards he continued. Moans and groans of a thousand voices drowned out his own, yet he always heard the female voice. Lingering in his mind; spurring him to move forward.

Just as his hand grasped something warm and soft did his body ignite in blazing heat. Scorching, maddening hotness breathed life into his mind. He had to put himself out.

From blazing heat to icy water, the sudden change in temperature was enough to shock his senses. His arms flailed for something to grasp, yet nothing presented itself. Eventually, the flailing came to an end, relegating himself to floating down the water for what felt like his entire existence. The starry night was all he saw. The female voice was silent, just like his mind.

When he finally drifted to shore, he didn’t know. The pull of the water weakened until his body rested half ashore, the rest being tugged at teasingly to come back in. The fogginess and haziness that plagued his mind had eased up, allowing him to revel in a newfound sense of clarity and independence.

Hands pushing into the sand, he tried to lift his body only for his knuckle to slip and brush the sand with his face. The second time he tried he succeeded in getting to his knees, though, his body swayed with even the gentlest of breezes.

His eyes gazed upwards at the stars again. The only thing he could see in the dead of night. His mind was as silent as his surroundings, resigning himself to stay and gaze until the sun wouldn’t allow him that pleasure any longer. Then he would stay until the sun bid goodnight and watch the stars again. Even in his transfixion, his hand reached upwards, unable to grasp what he so desired.

A sudden noise took him off guard, lowering his arm at the sight of something large in the distance. Snappy bangs were all he heard as a newfound light blinded him. “Hey! What are you doing?”

He didn’t respond. He felt like he knew how but no words came to his mind. He was still a bit muggy from what felt like waking up for the first time. A stare was all he gave in the direction of the voice when a new one made itself heard. “Hold up. I think that’s a zombie.”

“For real?” A moment of silence followed, the light touching every part of his body. “Oh wow, you’re right. Think it’s from that reported zombie uprising in New Westshire?”

“I don’t know. It’s pretty far away if it is.” The light left his eyes. “Hello! Can you understand us?” The first spoke slowly, annunciating each word.

He blinked, slowly opening his mouth. “Uh … yeah?”

His voice partially startled him; he had never heard it before. With the light shining on him, he took a moment to examine his hands. They were sickly green with a few patches of skin missing on his upper arms, revealing muscle and bone. He made a few fists and dropped his hands. Everything seemed to be working. “Great! Do you remember where you came from? Who you are?”

He racked his brain for an answer, yet nothing came to him. It felt as empty as … as … well, he didn’t have a metaphor for it because he had nothing to compare it to. “No …”

“Poor guy,” One of the creatures spoke. “He must have just woken up.”

“Well, he is a monster. We should take him in and get him situated.” The light left his body to find a home on the ground in front of him. “Can you stand?”

He tried to do as he was told, learning he had better stability now than when he first tried to get up. He was a bit off-balance but he didn’t fall. “Okay, great! We’re going to help you up and take you to some monsters who can help you out.”

He merely waited for the creatures to come down and lead him away. From the black and blue suits to the black and white car, he knew that some police officers had found him. How he knew what those were, he didn’t know. He complied with everything they asked him to do, from getting into the car to putting on his seatbelt and “enjoying the ride”. That last part he didn’t do so well, his mind still numb and empty of anything. He had no name, no family, no identity to attach himself to. The only thing he had was his body and a burned robe to try and give him any indication of who he was. He had no recollection of how he got to the shore, only that he was there and where he finally “woke up”.

His eyes still gazed at the stars, losing himself in them once more. Yet when the car turned around, his eyes were entranced by the large, brightly-lit city they were driving towards. Cities meant people, people meant connections and connections meant answers. He felt a new emotion hug tightly to his chest at the dazzling lights, an emotion he didn’t want to lose. Hope.


	2. Normalcy

Gym was by far Brian’s favorite period of the day. It didn’t require him to answer some nonsensical question that he didn’t know the answer to because he’d slept through class and it didn’t make him dress up in some ridiculous costume and blurt out random dragon noises. All he had to do was dodge and throw the ball as fast and as hard as he could, simple enough.

After getting dressed, Brian strolled out onto the court, where Vicky was ranting to Oz and Amira about something. “… And then he said I’d look good riding him! Can you believe that?”

Vicky huffed, puffing her cheeks out as much as she could. “Like, do you know who you’re talking to? I swear if he tries to contact me again I’m going to have Miri’s assassins track him down and snipe him in his stupid face!”

“Sup,” Brian casually inserted himself into the conversation, gaining the attention of the three.

Vicky spun around, emphasizing the drama in her tone. “Oh my god, Brian! You are not going to believe what kind of text I got today from the Interdimensional Prince!”

Brian cocked an eyebrow. “You gave him your number?”

“Augh, gross! No way! He got it somehow,” Vicky let the air out of her cheeks, still frowning. “And he won’t stop texting me!”

A sharp whistle took everyone’s attention over to Coach. “All right, let’s make our teams!”

Brian was usually sought out as one of the lead players when it came to the sport. With a crisp-high five, Scott was on his team along with Vicky, Oz, and Liam, who he knew was going to get out of the game in less than a minute. On the other side was Vera, Polly, Amira, Miranda and Damien, the latter squaring him off in court.

The demon gleefully sneered. “Think you’re going to win today? You got another thing coming! I’m going to wipe your stupid face on the floor with your blood!”

Brian smirked; he didn’t need choice insults to get even with the demon. Balls were lined up in the middle of the court, yet Scott, Brian, and Damien were the only ones to get into a running stance. The high-pitched wail of the whistle instantly purged all thoughts from Brian’s head, focusing on the now. Scott was already snatching a ball but he came a close second, leaping back with his ball just as Damien tried to smash his face in with his own. Brian and Damien kept their eyes on one another, seemingly ignoring the rest of the game.

With a hard toss, Brian launched his ball only for Damien to side-step it. “You call that a throw? Liam could play better than your sorry ass!”

“Hey, I pride myself on being the worst!” Liam took personal offense, having not moved from his spot since the game started.

He didn’t even try to dodge when a ball hit him square in the chest, followed by Polly yelling. “Woo got one!”

Liam was already more focused on his phone than the game, excusing himself before Coach could blow his whistle. That didn’t stop Damien from lobbing a ball at his face, knocking the vampire and his phone to the wooden floor. “I’m out!”

“Hah, noob!” The demon seemed more interested in throwing more balls at Liam, leaving Brian an opportunity. Arm thrown back, Brian put an extra spin on the ball, launching it in hopes of it smashing directly in his face. It would have too, had it not been for a blur of red and the ball slicing in half. Both halves landed on either side of Damien, who now brandished a giant hunter’s knife, madly grinning. He ran his tongue over the blade. “That all you got?”

Coach’s whistle went through the gym. “LaVey! No weapons on the court!”

But the demon didn’t seem to care what the coach had to say when he threw his knife Brian’s way. Students scrambled and screamed while Brian stood his ground, only needing to move his head to get out of harm’s way. He felt the knife graze his cheek from the sudden warmth of fresh blood trickling down, but only because he let it. His smirk grew to see what effect that had on Damien, whose grin twitched. His voice faintly shook. “You making fun of me?”

A quip, a snarky remark or even a single word would have sent Damien into a flurry. But Brian didn’t need any of that. He broadened his stance, flipping Damien off and using the same finger to coax him over. Damien snapped.

He charged Brian, brandishing another knife he had stashed on his body while screaming madly. Brian finally let himself grin, slipping his right hand into his pocket. When it slipped back out a brass knuckle was snuggly fit over his fingers, dodging a wide swipe and delivering a hearty blow to the demon’s chest. The air escaping Damien’s lungs enthralled Brian, inhaling deeply. Finally, he felt alive since the day had begun.

Damien stumbled back, allowing Brian to get two more blows in before his third strike missed. Damien gained his own, crazed look, diving down while his arm was still away from his body to jam his knife up into his armpit. Pain wasn’t something Brian registered, never knew what the experience felt like. But the burst of warmth and wetness told him Damien had hit his mark, slightly impressed.

Damien seemed just as impressed, twisting the knife as Brian felt his arm convulse. He must have hit an artery.  Snapping his arm back, Brian trapped the knife in between his arm and body and slammed his knee into Damien’s gut. It got Damien out of his personal space, dropping the knife and seizing him from the back. Locked were his arms around Damien’s, pinning one of Damien’s feet down with his own and pulling back on him with all his strength.

Damien let out a painful cry when both heard a painful snap from his back, arms flailing to try and grab him to no avail. Brian was disappointed with the lack of a fight when he noticed something darts out of the corner of his eye. Apparently, he hadn’t thrown the knife far enough away as Damien’s tail seized it and stabbed it repeatedly into his side. Brian was not impressed, ready to finish the fight just as the knife had made a huge wound, blood leaking profusely from it. Damien’s tail dropped the knife only to ram itself into the wound, slithering around. The foreign object caused him to shudder, loosening his grip enough that Damien slipped loose. He turned around and decked Brian in the face before tackling him to the ground.

The whistle could be heard blaring in the background but no one would dare get between the two of them fighting. Damien cackled madly as his hand found its rightful place at the hilt of his knife, carving up his chest as if he were a turkey at Thanksgiving. The knife in his body was irritating him and his right hook met Damien’s jaw, hearing a sickening crack as the demon fell to the floor. Brian used the opportunity to sit atop of him, feeling just how hard the fight had gotten Damien and rubbing his own erection over his. It caused both to moan, neither losing their grin as Brian took both hands and brought them down on Damien’s upper chest multiple times.

Damien spat blood on the ground, the rest trickling down his cheek. “That all you got, fucker?”

Hands clenching Brian’s throat, Damien’s grin turned insane as he wrung it, causing the zombie to stop his mad beatings. His hands flew around Damien’s neck, using what strength he had left to apply as much pressure to his throat. Damien’s hands shook and he could see the pain flash across his eyes, wondering who would give out first.

Sadly, neither would know when large paws swiped at Brian, knocking him down. “Get off!”

His bloodied gym shirt was grabbed from the back as both him and Damien were dragged out of the class by Crazy Martin the Were-bear janitor. Damien tried spitting at the janitor only for the spit mixed with blood to land on the ground. “Why you gotta be ruining our fun? We were just paling around!”

“Tell it to the Principal!”

Damien groaned loudly, seemingly bored now as he wiped his blood from his cheeks and felt his jaw. Brian smiled when Damien winced, checking his brass knuckles to see he had gotten some of Damien’s blood on it. When Damien was looking he licked up a streak, lifting some of the demon’s spirits.

After a quick stop at the nurses’, the two were deposited in their own seats in front of Principal Giant Spider’s desk. Brian was dressed in a gown and wrapped in gauze, his gym clothes completely ruined while Damien was allowed to keep his blood-splattered clothes on. Damien threw his arm over his chair, clearly uninterested.

PGS sighed. “Every week you two are getting into bloody fights! Why can’t you two settle your differences in a less violent way? Like talking or going somewhere else to do this?”

“You got it all wrong Principal Giant Spider!” Damien sat up in his seat. “We weren’t fighting; we were trying to clean each other up! Got ketchup all over ourselves during lunch and we were helping a buddy out!”

Brian snickered at his piss-poor attempt, Damien shooting him a cocky smile. PGS’s look was hardly convinced. “Do you two like getting detention? Because at this rate it’s about to become a permanent after school activity!” PGS let out another sigh, shaking his head. “You two are smart, I can feel it. If you’d just stop this barbaric brawling and put your minds to work you’d stop failing your classes and gain some enlightenment from behaving! It wouldn’t hurt to try and get along!”

“Pass,” Damien flicked his tail. “Don’t talk like you know us. Just give us our detention and let us go.”

He held out a hand as if waiting for the physical punishment to come down. PGS’s sour mood only soured even more. “One week of detention.”

“What? That’s more than last week!” Damien was up and out of his seat, slamming his hands on the desk.

PGS flinched at the show of violence, voice wavering. “And it’ll keep going up until you two show some restraint!” He waved one of his giant, hairy appendages. “Now go! You’re done in here!”

“Fuck!” Damien threw his chair behind him as he stormed out, Brian following suit.

After a quick stop in the gym lockers to retrieve his clothes, Brian went about the rest of his day as normal until detention rolled around. Martin just gave him a low growl when he stepped into the almost-empty classroom. Damien was sitting on the other side of the class, arms crossed and staring directly at Brian. They were in there so often it was almost like a second home for Brian, setting his stuff on the other side of the room. They weren’t allowed to sit next to each other anymore after they inexplicably caused half of the school to ignite in a monstrous explosion of jelly and lava three months ago. The cocky smirk was still on Damien’s face, Brian sharing in the feeling as the two silently eyed one another.

Damien had a plan, Brian knew that much and it soon became clear as to what that was when fire alarms suddenly went off. Damien was already up from his seat, gasping and clearly not panicked. “Oh no, a fire! Doesn’t that mean we need to leave or something?”

Martin shot him a deadly glare, to which Damien shot a nasty glare back. The janitor was quick to the door, growling. “Don’t you fucking leave this room.”

“Isn’t that a safety hazard?” Damien cocked an eyebrow, but he didn’t move until Martin had stepped out to check where the fire was. As soon as Brian heard the door close Damien was already shoving desks out of the way, making a beeline for him.

Brian got up, throwing his own desk behind him as the two collided into a messy kiss of teeth and lips. He felt Damien’s tail possessively wrap around his thigh, rubbing against one another as he quickly felt his earlier erection pop back up. He tasted dried blood on Damien’s lips, biting into his lower one to produce more and lightly suck on it, which got the demon moaning. When they parted to pant Damien’s voice was smooth as silk and as tender as veal. “Fuck I love you.”

“Same,” Brian breathed, feeling Damien’s hand on the back of his head as he forced him back onto his lips. It wouldn’t be the first time Martin came in on them fucking each other’s brains out, slightly hoping their mad brawl earlier meant that they were in for some insane screwing.

Instead, Damien stopped right before Brian could tear at his clothes, pecking his lips. “How’s your arm?”

“I think it’s fine.” Brian let go of Damien to check himself out. “Have you been practicing?”

“Maybe,” Damien said in a prideful tone. “I should ask you the same thing. Your right hook was amazing. I think you broke my fucking jaw.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” Brian teased. “Maybe I should give it another go. See if you’re talking then.”

“How do you know I’m not working through the pain? And go ahead, try. I fucking dare you.” Damien brought their bodies together again, melting back into one another in another round of sloppy kisses. Aside from gym, this was Brian’s favorite part of the day.

Damien let up first, resting his forehead on his. “So, our sixth-month anniversary is tomorrow. You got anything in mind?”

Brian’s eyes slightly widened. “That soon?”

“Right?” Damien chuckled; it was husky and handsome to Brian’s senses. The same hands that freely jabbed his knife into him earlier now caressed his head like he was the most precious thing to Damien. “Feels just like yesterday when we got into our first fight.”

“It was hot as hell.” Brian let the dirty image play out in his head. Damien and he had never gelled well since he started school at Spooky High, which ultimately ended up with both calling the other out to a fight after school. Brian assumed Damien was all talk and no bite but was happily surprised when he got his ass kicked, even doing some of his own ass-kicking back. He hadn’t even realized until they were in the bathrooms screwing one another how much he needed someone like Damien in his life to call out the inner animal inside of him, to go all out and cause as much destruction and mayhem as he pleased. Thankfully, after their mad sex, Damien felt the same way.

“I’d say even hotter,” Damien purred. Brian stifled a groan when Damien’s tail poked at his ass; it was so hard to think with such a gorgeous demon egging him on.

“I can think of a few things I want to do to you …” The end of Brian’s sentence came out as a growl. “And all the places I want to do them …”

The fire in Damien’s eyes was passionate, Brian’s hands already tugging on Damien’s jacket to pull it off and get the party started. “That eager to get fucked, huh?”

“Try the other way …” Brian was feeling very cocky that afternoon, his hand grabbing a handful of Damien’s delicious ass and squeezing hard. He felt the demon stiffen and stifle a moan.

Before he could continue groping it Damien’s hand had taken his. He brought it to his lips, kissing it. “A brand new bank opened up just a few towns over. I say we ditch school, rob it, set it on fire and spend the rest of the day at my place fucking one another. How does that sound?”

Brian let the lust clouding his judgment recede for the moment. Ditching school and robbing banks weren’t anything new for them, but spending the entire day together while on their anniversary sure as hell sounded like a great way to spend the day. “Sounds wonderful. I’ve been meaning to get more money. Rent’s due in a week.”

“Then we won’t spare them a penny.” Damien was back on him after the delicious purr, beginning their quick wrestle to see who would dominate the sex this time around. Damien had won the last four times so Brian was eager to win this time, joyful when his hand found his tail and yanked hard on it. Damien’s lips and body came off him in a pained cry, giving him enough time to turn him around and smack him down on one of the tables. He ground his clothed cock over Damien’s ass, garnering another loving moan as he fiddled with his belt with one hand.

 Sadly, Martin had reentered the room before they were deep enough to finish what they had started. Any other time, Brian would have gotten off of Damien and resigned himself to sit in his seat until another catastrophe gave them some free time or it was time to leave. This time, however, Brian met Martin’s enraged glare with his own, inhaling deeply through his nose and keeping Damien pushed down. He was not going to lose this win. “You wanna try to break this up? I’m fucking my bitch and you’re not going to stop me.”

Martin usually fought him whenever he tried to go toe-to-toe with the giant grizzly bear. For once, Martin spat at the ground. “Fuck it. I don’t get paid enough for this.”

He turned tail and went back outside. Brian felt like he had won the world, euphoria filling his entire body and replacing the blood he’d lost. Damien groaned underneath him. “Did you just call me your bitch?”

Brian leaned down, biting hard at Damien’s ear. “You heard me. Now get to taking.”

After their intense round and a good smack on the ass from Damien for his earlier comment, Brian had a spring in his step as he walked home from school. Today had been a great day and he looked forward to tomorrow even more.

It was a quick stroll from the poor education facility to his poor apartment complex. It was definitely a step up from the complete shit apartments he first had when he moved into Monstropolis, but thanks to his reputation with Damien and his own fighting skills many wouldn’t dare try to rob him. After unlocking his unclean door, Brian stepped inside his filth of a place, from the take-out strewn everywhere to the unwashed clothes on the ground to the rats that slept on his couch. He shooed the rats away and entered his bedroom, where the mess was even worse.

He dug through a few loose papers to find a red marker, using it to blot out the day on his calendar. Two years. It had been two years since today that he had first woken up and started his life as Brian. Two years of struggling to get by, two years of creating an identity for himself, and two years of insane, backward way of living with every day being a new adventure. He faintly called upon the new sense of hope he desperately held onto during his first few months after the zombie bureau had taken him under their metaphorical wing and given him temporary living until he could get on his feet. It was almost hard to recall them, dredging back up depressing memories of him being alone, slowing losing hope every day that he would remember who he was until there was no hope left to hold onto. When it was all gone, he truly felt dead.

Glancing over to the closet, Brian pulled back the sliding door and pulled out an old garment. The blood-stained and tattered robes he’d first found himself in, still radiant in oranges and yellows. He’d held onto it in hopes of finding someone in similar attire or to prove who he was, but now, he was just too lazy to throw it out. Part of him still wondered, though, how he got in such bizarre clothing, deciding to cap the thought and stash the robes away.

Thinking about the life he lost didn’t bother Brian now. Who cared if he never remembered who he was or what he left behind? He was living life to the fullest with his friends, battling the daily struggles of high school while having the prince of hell as his worst enemy and passionate lover. Honestly, he couldn’t ask for a better life.

Setting his marker down, Brian made his way over to his cluttered filled bed, swiped whatever he could on the ground and fell onto it. He was exhausted from the earlier brawl and sex, knowing a nap would make him feel better. And after that, a day filled with explosions, arson and love waited for him with the demon of his dreams.

He couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! I've never written a couple like this before so it goes against everything I've written in the past, yet I had a lot of fun writing it. Is it too much? Just right? Your feedback will really help me!


	3. Chance Encounter

They left early in the morning for their anniversary. Damien had shown up on his doorstep with a bouquet of poetry on fire, which Brian used to light their joints when they set off. He made sure to bring all the essentials for their day, like his best guns, the RPG that Damien gifted him for his birthday, his black robbing outfit and ski mask, some good knives, lots of bags to hold the cash, magazines for said guns, all the drugs he had stashed in his apartment, rope for later that day and good ol’ lube.

“Maaan, why did you bring Nancy?” Brian droned, feeling the effects of the joint tingling under his skin. “She’s a pile of shit.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Damien took his eyes off the road, not caring when they suddenly felt a large bump and screams. “Nancy’s my baby and if you disrespect her you’re disrespecting me!”

“But she’s shiiiiiiit,” Brian huffed the last of his joint, letting it fly away from his fingers. “If we fail this heist I’m junking her.”

“I’ll fucking kill you if you even try.” Damien moved the car off the sidewalk and back onto the road, taking a turn out of the city.

“Is that a challenge?” Brian smirked, squaring Damien in the eye. He chuckled when Damien hit where he had stabbed him yesterday.

They breezed through the city and out into the country, where Damien put on some music and let the notes get them through most of the drive. Brian continued to loosen himself up with a few more joints, liking the added challenge of trying to keep his head when he was so high. He glanced at a sign they passed, yet it didn’t hit his mind until minutes later. He sat up. “Wait, we’re going to New Westshire?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you?” Damien turned down the heavy metal, lifting up his shades from the glaring sun. “Got a problem with it?”

“No,” Brian relaxed back into his seat. “Just haven’t heard that name in a while.”

He muttered that last part mostly to himself, he was surprised he still remembered that slight detail all these years later while he was high as a kite. It shouldn’t change anything though, right? No, he didn’t come on this trip to start questioning things that were long dead. He came to rob some poor souls of their hard earned cash and use it to spend on drugs and rent. The thought brought him back into the right mindset, deciding to put his ski mask on early.

Unlike Monstropolis, New Westshire was a lot bigger and blander. Then again, Brian expected as much from a human settlement. They never were crazy about the status quo changing every second or get caught up in the insane shenanigans that only monsters could. Brian couldn’t see himself living in any city that was mostly populated by humans, he would die of boredom.

Damien slowed their car a block away from the bank, dipping down to put on his own ski mask before anyone could start pointing and screaming. “You ready?”

“Always,” Brian had just stuffed his last gun into his pocket, armed and dangerous for their lovely outing. Damien grinned as he pocketed his own artillery from the trunk and set off towards the bank with Brian in tow. Robbing a bank in broad daylight was definitely risky and ballsy as hell, but Brian wouldn’t have it any other way, it only added to the thrill. The bank Damien had chosen was much larger and grander than the normal banks they frequented. They even had marbled lions at the top of the steps; they would definitely have to come back a few months down the line.

Damien was the first to set the scene, roundhouse kicking the doors open and throwing fireballs. He must have scouted over blueprints of the bank earlier since he knew exactly where to throw them to really start the party; several in the potted plants near the counters and the other behind them at the entrance. Brian took out the security before they could even withdraw their weapons, shooting them down with accuracy he spent countless hours perfecting. A poor woman not even 30 had become his personal hostage, keeping his gun pointed at her head while eyeing the area to make sure there wasn’t going to be any would-be-heroes. Damien’s tail swished happily. “Hands in the air, cash in the bags and we might not kill you all!”

The humans in the bank dropped to the ground with their hands held high. Damien strolled past, kicking a few down while Brian kept right behind him. He could hear the horrified whispers from some about Damien’s tail; that monsters were doing what they were doing best. He could care less about the blatant racism humans had against monsters, though, they weren’t exactly setting the bar high with this stunt. Whatever.

Damien slid over the counter, using his best persuasion skills via his knife to get one of the tellers to follow him into the back, while Brian stayed out front to make sure there would be no squealers. The fire was really coming along now, the potted plants were charred to a crisp and the fire had found its home on the carpet. He felt so alive, wishing this day could last forever.

“Pl-Please,” Brian looked down to his hostage, who had been shaking badly since he had recruited her to their cause. Her voice choked, staring up at him with absolute terror. “Let me go … I have a husband and four kids …”

Not his problem, but he wasn’t going to engage the woman in small talk. A hushed voice diverted his attention away, realizing his first biggest mistake when he witnessed a human with their phone to their ear. The shot of his gun rang through the bank, prompting screams from the other hostages and a low whisper from him. “Shit!”

No doubt cops were on their way now, but the burning doors would keep them out of the building from this side. He had to tell Damien. Shoving the woman away, Brian hopped over the counter and raced to the back, where Damien was half-way done filling up the bags.

He turned to Brian questionably. “The hell you doing back here?”

“Someone called the cops.”

“For real?” Damien stopped stuffing cash into their bags, kicking the fresh corpse that was the teller. “Well, better to start the party now than later. Get to stuffing.”

They hadn’t gone over any plans earlier, so there wasn’t really any to screw up. Brian made quick work stuffing the last of the bills into their bags, slinging several over his shoulders while Damien reached into one of the many pockets Brian had, retrieving a semi-automatic pistol. “You tank, I’ll add to the body count. We meet at Nancy.”

“Sounds good.” With that Brian led the way, with Damien using him as a shield as they went down the back halls. Damien’s right hand traced the walls, setting fire to everything it touched. It was when Brian turned the corner that he came to a halt, finding several shielded officers waiting for them.

Once they spotted the two, their guns were aimed. “Freeze!”

Finally, some action. Brian let the bags drop from his hands, charging towards the barrage with a newfound sense of excitement and adrenaline. Bullets came flying at his body, riddling his chest but it hardly slowed him. Some started to move back when it was evident he wasn’t slowing, feeling somewhat sorry for the cop he smashed into and sent to the ground. He stood atop the officer he crashed into, grabbing the helmet of the nearest one and smashing his head into the wall adjacent to him and grabbing his gun to then fire off at his buddies. The others held up their shields to block the fire, giving Damien the opening he needed to fire through the gaps into their necks. “Fucking metal!”

Brian preened at the compliment, going back for the cash while Damien stomped his foot on the ground and yelled out something that had his voice dip deeply. The building shook in response, the ceiling caving in to bury the newly created corpses and block any others from coming to investigate. They ran through the rest of the bank with little trouble and towards the nearest exit, where they found several stationed cop cars and an abundance of cops waiting for them.

Brian took the brunt of the bullets, gasping when Damien’s hand brushed over his crotch while searching something on his body. When he finally found what he had been looking for he peered out, ripping the safety pin off his newfound grenade and sent it flying towards the blockade. He then pulled Brian back in, slammed the door and waited until the recoil shook the door and several bloodied screams filled the air. Like a true boyfriend, Damien held open the door for Brian as he saw an opening between the dismembered bodies and the cops slowly regaining their senses. “Let’s go!”

Brian led the way, listening to the sounds of exploding cars and despair as Damien cackled. “This is amazing!”

A smile graced his lips; he felt the exact same. Exiting out onto the main street, they saw more cop cars and fire trucks as they were trying to get the people out of the burning building. From the black plumes rising upwards, the fire was getting out of hands. Damien rested a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “Damn, man. It’s beautiful.”

Surprisingly, they weren’t seen fleeing the scene, pushing past innocent bystanders back to their getaway vehicle. He paid little mind of what they looked like, though, upon passing by one garbed figure his entire body took on an icy chill. Time slowed as he turned back, the figure’s head hidden under a widow’s veil and black clothing. Even though nothing could be seen of them, they looked just as shocked.

He almost lost his footing. Luckily, he caught himself before he smashed into the ground, a newfound fear propelling him to run faster. Whatever he felt was too creepy. Turning the corner, both he and Damien got back to Nancy without much holler. Brian threw the bags into the trunk, hopping into the passenger’s seat as Damien tried starting the car. To their horror, it wouldn’t start. “Damien!”

“Fuck off! Nancy isn’t usually this bad!”

They both heard the familiar sound of cop sirens in the distance coming towards their way. Brian acted quick, swinging himself out of the car and over to a parked car nearby. He smashed the window in, unlocked the car and ripped open the boards to find the starter wires. “Let’s just go! Leave your shit car!”

“I am not leaving Nancy!” Damien yelled, kicking the front and popping the hood. “Fucking battery’s dead.”

By then Brian had already hot-wired their new car, they had mere seconds until the cops found them. “Fix it then, I’m going to stall!”

“Love you!”

 Brian rolled his eyes, holding one arm up. “RPG please!”

Damien tossed it his way as he slung it into the passenger’s seat, jumping into the driver’s seat and hitting the gas. He almost smashed the car into Nancy when making his exit, getting back onto the road just as the cop cars came by. He made sure they knew who he was by swinging his left arm out of the broken window and firing randomly. A few lingered near Damien but he got enough of their attention to get them to follow. Damien would probably be pissed he took most of the action anyways.

While the cops were on his tail, Brian felt his high from earlier lose its potency. He was beginning to think more clearly, telling him that his best option would be to continue driving like a maniac until Damien fixed the car and get the hell out of the city. Humans rarely came into monster settlements to settle legal disputes, especially crimes, so if they made it to the home stretch then he’d be surprised if anyone still came after them.

He swerved in and out of traffic, deciding to up the chaos by shooting a few tires of cars he passed. Screeching and loud crashing noises soon followed, using his rear-view mirror to notice the growing blockade and the distance he was making. Helicopters flew in and the roof of the car danced with multitudes of gunshots. It made Brian laugh, his hand brushing his RPG.

Swinging the door open to his car, Brian put all his weight on the gas as he leaned out, aiming his baby. The swerving of the car only added to the thrill of trying to aim, setting off a fire that almost sent him flying from the car and his rocket up towards the helicopters. It hit one square on, the blades of the first colliding into the second and bringing both back down to earth. Brian gleefully watched the ensuing explosion, the fire dancing in his eyes.  Damien would be so proud if he could see him now.

He swung his body back into the driver’s seat, ready to turn around and check on Damien. That was, until his car impacted directly into the side of an apartment complex. The front went straight through but got caught on something, ceiling debris falling onto the destroying vehicle.

The car’s front crumpled into itself, coming to a dead stop and with it Brian. He was caught between the smashed steering wheel and the broken seat, blinking rapidly as he found a new high in the form of too much blood loss. The sirens were ringing in his ears.

Using his strength, Brian managed to get himself out of the wreck, cussing out loud when his right foot was bent outwards and refused to be bent back. Paranoia set in when he heard car doors slam, forgoing the elevator to take the stairs. Several footsteps and voices were already after him. “Freeze, monster!”

Shit, he wasn’t going to get away with how slow he was shuffling. His hand reached for another grenade on his belt, taking the safety off and throwing it down the steps. His throw was miserable, landing only a few feet away when it set off. He crashed into the second-floor wall with a wheeze, his mask burning bright with fire. He quickly ripped it off to save his face from burns, scuffling to his feet to run.

Unfortunately, he blew out the next line of stairs, his only refuge the hall on this floor. Many choices awaited him, mind panicking that he might be caught before he can get out. Just when he considered jumping out the window did a melody float through the air, choking him of all thoughts. That song … he’s heard it before. He _knows_ it, but where?

It wafted down from the third right, Brian taking it as he let the music be his guide. He shambled through halls, turning a corner only to gasp. The same figure he’d passed on the street waited for him at the end of the hall and where a new staircase waited, flute in hand.

“Quickly!” The figure, feminine, called for him.  It was risky, but he’d rather take the chance then have Damien bust him out of a human jail. He’d never live it down.

As he rushed past her as she held out a hand. “Gun!”

Why he threw her one, he didn’t understand, deciding to not care as he quickly sped up the stairs. The figure was right behind him, aiming for any police that stepped out of the hall. Her aim was bad but it kept the police enough at bay, a flurry of bullets coming their way. Brian felt more warmth from the bullets in his back; looking back to notice the figure’s clothes shuffle as bullets zipped through. How she was still standing gave Brian enough of a clue to know he wasn’t dealing with a human.

At this point Brian thought he might actually die, but not from getting caught by the police. His suit felt drenched in his warm blood, deciding it wasn’t the best idea to take so many bullet wounds. His eyelids fluttered, vision growing hazy as he tripped up the final flight of stairs. He still managed to keep going to the rooftop, out of ideas. If he were in good condition he would have jumped and picked himself up from the ground, but a fall this high up with this much blood loss could knock him out and give the police plenty of time to lock him in a cell.

He shambled to the edge, looking down to all the cop cars around the building. No Nancy or Damien in sight. His heart shriveled, was he really going to pass out here? Or die? If he came back as a ghost he was going to brutally murder Damien and Nancy for the loss of his life over a hunk of junk.

The door clanged shut, looking back over to the figure that followed him.

“Got a plan?” Brian asked, really hoping they wouldn’t have to jump.

“It’s you …”

Brian froze. Her voice slithered in his ear and a bone-chilling coldness crawled up his spine. Her body moved unnaturally, head turning a little too slowly. Her hands clasped together. “After all these years … you’ve returned to me …”

The figure walked closer, drawing a breath from him. He didn’t have anywhere to run, his icy veins telling him something wasn’t right. Her hand reached out as if to touch him, his entire body buzzing with electricity deep within his bones. Everything told him to stay away.  “My Helios …”

 “Brian!” The yell made Brian look down. A sea of fire engulfed the streets, Nancy flying through the air in an arc with Damien madly waving his arms. Massive relief washed over Brian, knowing today wasn’t his day to die or be humiliated.

He threw himself off the building without another thought.

The figure’s shrill screams pierced the air, taking him out of his free-fall and back to what it had said. They said a name. A name that definitely wasn’t his, yet they seemed to recognize him. He knew he’d never seen the figure before in his life but maybe he did. In another life. When he was alive. It was enough to steal a breath from his lips.

His thoughts came to a halt just as his body smashed into the passenger’s seat, landing wrong on his neck and throwing it out of whack. His neck was further crushed when the car hit the ground and sped off before he could situate himself, throwing his lower half into the back of the seat. Damien’s voice came from above. “Fuck, man! That was intense! I can’t believe we fucking did that! I love you so much!”

Brian slowly repositioned himself to actually sit in his seat, eyes fluttering with a goofy smile on his face. Things felt weird, he felt weird. Everything felt like a funny joke, letting out a chuckle when Damien looked concerned and asked him what was wrong. He blacked out soon after.

 


	4. Lingering Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that I haven't updated in awhile! Been busy with other projects and getting ready for the holidays.
> 
> If you like this chapter, please comment and kudo!

“… Ey, Brian … wake the fuck up!”

Brian grumbled at Damien’s pissed-off tone, regaining consciousness when his body shook violently. He cracked open his eyes, staring up at Damien. The deep concern immediately vanished into irritation. “Finally, took you forever.”

Brian sleepily smiled. “Just wanted to rile you up.”

“Yeah? Maybe I should have let you die then.” Damien shared in his smile, leaning back and out of Brian’s vision. “Can’t believe you lost consciousness because of heavy blood loss. Wimp.”

Brian pushed his upper half up, noticing an IV in each arm and the packets of blood they were attached to. His clothes had been removed, chest completely covered in clean bandage. Judging from the large blood red bed he lied in, the pile of skulls in the corner of the room, the wall of weapons and the couch next to the TV that was continuously on fire, Brian felt safe to say he was in Damien’s room back in the palace of hell.

Damien seemed slightly restless, sitting on the edge. “You feeling okay?”

Brian cricked his neck and shrugged his arms. “Yeah, thanks for the blood.”

Damien turned his body towards him, arms wrapping around his chest and pulling him closer to him. Damien buried his head in his chest, voice quiet. “Don’t scare me like that.”

It was rare when Damien let himself be this vulnerable, so Brian put his joking aside. He stroked a hand through the demon’s hair. “I’m okay, D. Honest.”

“You better be,” Damien lightly shoved Brian, who fell back onto Damien’s pillows. “Because I’m not saving your ass if you try to die that stupidly again.”

Brian lifted himself onto his elbows, feeling his cockiness return. “You sure? Because I remember all the times you swore you could never live without my ass.”

“Shut up,” Damien started to laugh, lifting Brian’s spirits. He never liked seeing Damien down, so it relaxed him knowing he wasn’t worrying anymore.

He stayed put as Damien crawled over him, resulting in light kisses until they picked up vigorously into a sloppy make-out. Brian moaned freely, eyelids fluttering when Damien bit his neck and suckled the skin. He was already hardening at Damien’s advances, slightly confused. “Am I naked?”

He hadn’t given it any thought since he was underneath Damien’s covers, but with nothing to obstruct his boner he had to believe he was. Damien chuckled. “I wanted to skip the boring steps. You got a problem with it?”

His tone teased him, egging him to do something about it. He felt a smirk come to his lips, enjoying the squirming show Damien put on when his hands grabbed his half-hard cock and gave it a good squeeze. “No problem here.”

This only spurred Damien to become more forceful with his advances, which Brian was hoping for. After a good round of sex and a light nap, Brian woke up feeling more refreshed and pleasant than usual. Damien had moved away from cuddling him when they fell asleep to cuddling his own pillow near the edge of the bed.

Not wanting to wake Damien, he silently removed the drips from his arms and gently crawled out of bed to the bathroom. If they were going to spend the rest of the day going multiple rounds than he’d want to clean up after every few to get rid of the funky smell of sweat and bodily fluids. His hand lingered on his ass, rubbing it to feel how delightfully sore it was. On second thought, if Damien went that hard every round he might not make it to the end of the day.

Turning on the shower, Brian used a stray knife in the bathroom to remove the gauze around his chest, surveying the damage. He snorted at his reflection, he looked like an amalgamation of Swiss cheese and one of those contour people target papers humans used to practice their aim. Sweet. They would definitely make killer scars but Brian wanted to save his chest for an extra special scar, reminding himself to find a healing potion later to get rid of the bullet wounds.

After surveying himself for a little longer he stepped into the scalding hot shower. It was just how Brian liked it, hot and there. He rinsed his body first before reaching for the shampoo and conditioner he left at Damien’s place since he was over so often. He even had a toothbrush sitting next to Damien’s swiss pocket knife of one, remembering how happy he felt to finally get to that status of their relationship.

A lot of people would look at their relationship and call it demented, insane and extremely unhealthy. They always got stares whenever they were out in public defiling personal property, setting things on fire or beating each other to a bloody pulp only to end with one of them deep inside the other.

Brian could care less what people thought, knowing that their relationship was on the strange side. That didn’t mean Damien was a bad boyfriend at all. In fact, he was quite accepting of a lot of things and aware of how he felt. They had their boundaries and what was okay to press and what wasn’t, and they never fought in a way that would actually kill the other. Damien understood him on levels no one else could and was extremely humbled to be with such a caring and doting demon like him. Truly, he’d hit the jackpot.

In the lull of feeling incredible and content, the scene from the rooftop played back in his head. He frowned, still able to clearly see the garbed figure, the water suddenly icy. Maybe he’d just found the lead he’d been looking for since he woke, feeling that long gone hope suddenly spark to life. But that iciness wouldn’t let him shake the feeling that something was off.

Leaving the shower, Brian threw a towel over his lower half and stepped back into the bedroom. Damien was awake, his tail gesturing him over while he laid sideways to show off everyone. “Did you get all nice and clean for me? I think you look hotter covered in my seed.”

The thought fried Brian’s brain for a second, tempted to hop back into bed and continue where they left off. The bothersome memory lingered, however, which made him sit on the edge. Damien sat up, losing some of his playfulness. “You already tired?”

“I think someone recognized me,” Brian admitted, his back slumped with his elbows on his knees.

“While we were robbing the bank?” He felt Damien on his back and his arms draped over his chest. “Did you take off your mask?”

He nodded his head. “It happened while you were trying to start up Nancy. I took my mask off when I set off a grenade too close to me. Then I heard this weird music and saw this figure. I felt so cold just being around them. She called me their Helios.”

His hands took Damien’s, his voice insecure. “I think she knew me before I became Brian. Before I died.”

“So?” Damien’s questioning tone caught Brian off guard. He angled his head back to see some of Damien’s disinterest. “Why does that matter? You got a life here now. Why does it matter if someone recognized you from when you were alive? It’s not like you know them.”

“I guess,” Brian wasn’t entirely convinced, looking back down at their hands. “Wouldn’t you be curious though? If you knew nothing about your past life and suddenly you get a lead?”

“Maybe,” He felt Damien’s chin on his shoulder. “But only if I knew it’d lead to something awesome and epic. I doubt you’d find any of that in a human settlement. What if you find out you came from a terrible family and they try to rope you back into their shitty lives? Or they expect you to go right back to who you were before you died like you owe them something? It sounds like extra drama that you don’t need.”

“Maybe.” Brian pressed his cheek up against Damien’s, sighing.

“You want my advice? Forget about it. You died, you left their lives and now you’re a powerful zombie that no monster messes with and my sexy boyfriend. You can’t get better than that.”

Brian blushed at the compliment, taking one of Damien’s hands to kiss. “You’re being super nice to me right now. Where’s my normal slew of insults and berating lines?”

“Not today,” Damien’s lips were on his cheek, taking his arms back as his hands rested on his shoulders. “Today’s all about us. I love you.”

Brian turned his body to face Damien, giving him a proper kiss on the lips as his arms wrapped around him. “Love you too.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, taking turns making love to one another and talking about anything that came on their mind. After that, they stepped out for a nice walk around the fiery plains of eternal torment and laughed at the damned souls that were forever trapped in anguish. They even participated in dealing out the anguish.

They dined with Damien’s fathers for dinner, who had taken a liking to Brian shortly after he had met them for the first time a month into their relationship. Brian couldn’t get over the dad jokes though, that was probably the most tormenting thing they could unleash upon him. After dinner, they went back to Damien’s room to watch some TV and exchange gifts. Damien’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the sick blade Brian had custom-made for him, engraved with his name and some skulls on fire. Brian’s gift was equally as good; another RPG launcher and a new set of brass knuckles that caught on fire with a simple thought. All in all, it was a wonderful day spent together.

When school rolled around the next day it was utter devastation. He and Damien had even more detention piled up on their plates for skipping school, which didn’t faze either of them, but the test Brian had missed wasn’t going to help with his little chances for passing. He was able to talk down the teacher into letting him take it that weekend, which meant that for lunch Brian sat by himself as he chewed on his pencil and looked over Oz’s notes that he lent to him. He would look over his but … okay, that was a funny joke. The day Brian actually took notes would be the day he decided to try and get a ticket into heaven.

Despite his efforts to try and study his mind kept lingering on the events of yesterday. Several red flags always went off whenever he thought about the figure, a clear indication to stay away. Maybe if the figure wasn’t so terrifying he might have pursued the lead, but this was one thing he wasn’t going to go after. Damien was right; he had a great life here. Why mess that up for something that didn’t matter anymore?

With the last bell ringing, Brian had his usual fun in detention and was let out an hour later when Martin got sick of them. Damien took his normal fiery-wall of a portal home while he walked out from the entrance, noticing Vicky sitting on the steps. “You waiting on someone?”

Vicky leaned her head back. “I’m waiting for you, silly! Did you forget?”

Right, today was Wednesday. The figure was getting to his head, shaking it off. “Just got this test to worry about.”

“For lore?”

“Yeah.”

Vicky pushed herself to her feet. “You shouldn’t worry about it! It wasn’t that bad.”

She followed him down the stairs, Brian half-heartedly smiling. “Remember any of the answers?”

“Nope! But if I remember any I’ll tell you.” Vicky said with a sly smile and a wink. Vicky was always good at lifting his spirits when Damien wasn’t around. He accompanied Vicky to her car, which she parked right outside the school. Instead of taking the driver’s seat she simply crawled into the backseat while Brian took the wheel. It was more than satisfying to be driving again, Vicky playing her pop music loud and proud while he drove them off.

“So when are you going to get a new car?” Vicky shouted over her music.

“Don’t know,” Brian yelled just as loud. He never understood why she didn’t just turn the music down. “Nothing’s spoken to me yet.”

“You could always get Damien to build you a car.”

“Yeah, if I want a shit car like Nancy.” Brian slowed for a red, subduing the urge to just blare right through it. Even with Vicky whining in the back for the same thing, he didn’t want to wreck her car. “I want something fast and can tank a hit against a wall at full speed. Maybe also pack some arsenal.”

“Soooo a tank?” Vicky leaned over the driver’s seat, honking the horn the minute the light turned green.

“Tank would be cool. Too slow, though.”

“Just find a fast tank! They sell those, right?” Vicky’s innocent stare wasn’t worth an answer. They pulled up near a large supermarket titled, ‘Zombu-Mart’ and hopped out. Vicky already snagged a cart from the lot, gaining speed before hopping up and zooming into the store. Brian trailed loosely behind, noticing the market wasn’t as crowded as usual.

He made his way over to the limb department, pursuing what they had in stock for the week. A left hand and right leg sat in his freezer and Brian never liked not having the ease of mind of a full set of limbs at his place. Never know when an arm will be pulled into a shredder and you need a quick stitch-up.

“Ey, Brian!” A tall skeleton with a thick South American accent cackled behind rows of iced limbs. Brian made his way over. “Another week, another shopping trip, eh?”

Brian quietly smiled. “What do you got this week, Barbosa?”

“You’re seeing them!” Barbosa gestured to the limbs half-buried in ice with his four arms. “Got my grave robbers over to Moscow last Friday. Finally! Some got stopped at the border but they didn’t catch them all.”

Barbosa snickered at the end while Brian eyed the selection. His interest moved from item to item until he noticed a severed right hand. Curiously he picked it up, overlaying it with his own. “Got that one from Leipzig. Not even a year old!”

“How much are you asking?” Brian continued to survey the hand, giving it a jiggle.

Barbosa leaned over the chests with a grin that was made up several different teeth. “Depends. How much you got?”

Brian made note of the new gold tooth Barbosa had in his skull. That made five now. “How does 80 sound?”

“Brian, you wound me.” Barbosa stood back up, hands in the air in exasperation. “Fresh limbs are hard to come by! I already had four offers on that hand, but I knew in the recesses of my ribcage that my best customer only deserved the best! That my best customer would do me right!”

Brian playfully scoffed. “I think you have enough gold teeth.”

Barbosa lowered his arms. “What I do with my money is my business. Besides, everyone loves a golden smile.”

The grin came back along with a hearty laugh. Brian shook his head. “Fine. 100 and no more.”

“Done,” Fishing the money out of his pocket, Barbosa snatched it away before he could blink. The hand was then taken to be wrapped in butcher paper and string. Brian caught the parcel once Barbosa tossed it his way. “Enjoy the hand. I’m sure it’ll come in ‘handy’ soon, ehehehe!”

Brian shook his head again but gave the skeleton a fake salute. He turned to leave just as a cart bounced into his chest. Vicky still had her feet hooked on the bottom. “Hey! You got your stuff?”

“Just about,” Brian tossed the hand in, taking note of what Vicky put in their cart. A box of eyeball muffins, some tombstone cereal, almost expired milk and phoenix eggs. “You didn’t get me any brains?”

“You always put my picks back.” Vicky puffed out her cheeks. “So I didn’t bother.”

A brisk-walk later led them to the deli. While a large carcass was chopped up into a fresh supply of rotting cuts, Brian and Vicky strolled along the wall where the brains were displayed. Brian took a few good looking choices and weighed them in hand. “Seem smaller this week.”

“Maybe they are,” Vicky poked the plastic wrap covering the brain. Her shoes squeaked on the floor as she walked near Brian. “Remember when I first found you here? You looked so confused and unsure of yourself. Not knowing what the difference was between a human brain and a monkey’s brain.”

“Yeah, and you were loud and abrasive and wouldn’t leave me alone.” Brian put one of the selections back while setting the other in their basket. “What makes you bring that up?”

“Because you look a little lost.” Her eyes stared up at him. “Something else is on your mind than just that test. Wanna talk?”

Brian gripped the cart a little tighter. It was almost as if he could feel that same bone-chilling presence behind him. “I’m fine.”

He sped-walk down the aisles as Vicky trailed behind. “Well, when you want to talk I’m here.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, but okay.” Vicky was the one to load up the conveyer belt with their items while Brian sorted through his cash. It was his turn to pay for groceries this week, eyeing Vicky when she tried sneaking a bunch of last-minute candy onto the belt. “How're things with Miranda?”

“Oh, they’re great!” Her eyes sparkled at the mention. “Miri just got me this gorgeous necklace as a gift for our two month anniversary! It’s got this big jewel I’ve never seen before and it’s all sparkly and cool! I haven’t had time to find an outfit for it but I’ll have to show you it sometime.”

“Mhm, cool,” Brian half-heartedly listened, nodding his head every few words.

Once groceries were paid and loaded into the car, Brian got a hold of the radio just before Vicky could sync her phone. “Hey! My car, my music!”

“Be quicker next time,” His smile was sinister as Vicky puffed back up her cheeks.

“Be lucky I like hanging with you, or I’d totally kick you out now.”

“Aren’t I lucky to play chauffeur.”

“Yes, you are.”

It was a short ride back to Brian’s apartment from the grocery store. It was one of the reasons he picked his apartment, in case Vicky got too busy for their usual food run. Vicky merely climbed over her seat while Brian took his few groceries and exited the car. “See you tomorrow.”

“Totes!” She flashed him a bright smile before circling around and getting back onto the road. Of all the places he could have met Vicky, it was strange that their first time meeting wasn’t at school but at the local undead supermarket. Not that he was complaining; she had been a good friend during his rough patch and learning his new lifestyle. Maybe that was why her hyperactivity didn’t bother him as much as it did other monsters.

Ascending the stairs, Brian searched his pocket for his keys for his door. He thought his fingers brushed over them just when a cold snap locked his body in place. He hitched a breath, fingers involuntarily dropping his bags to the ground. A haunting voice whispered in his ear. “So this is where you’ve been hiding …”

He woodenly turned around, but not of his own accord. A sickly green woman stood several feet away from him with deeply hollowed out eyes and bright blue irises. Aside from her pale green neck the rest of her body was covered in robes of white with gold trim. A celestial ornament hung behind her black hair, glistening from the light of his apartment light.

Brian had no doubt in his mind that this was the same figure he’d encountered back in New Westshire.

“Who are you?” Brian tried to keep his voice calm, to try and not give away how frightened he was. Without the use of his hands or legs, he was powerless to whatever hold she had over him.

The woman’s eyes were pained, her smile melancholy. “Blessed with sentience, I couldn’t have wished for more. But I guess it came with a drastic price.”

“I won’t ask again,” Brian gritted his teeth, hoping to spur the woman into talking.

Instead, the woman stepped towards him, each step further driving more fear into his veins. “I wish I could have done more. Forgive me, I will make things right.”

Her gloved hand touched his, creating an instant jolt through Brian’s body.

The next second he sprung up, chest heaving and body covered in sweat. No longer was he outside of his apartment nor was the woman in front of him. He sat up in his bed, the light streaking from his broken blinds, signifying the morning.

“Huh, what?” A hand rested on his cheek, trying to get his bearings. Was it all a dream? His shoes and jacket were still on and after a quick run to the front door, his groceries were missing. Upon checking the fridge, however, they had been placed inside, though not taken out of the bag.

As the fridge was slowly closed, Brian rested his head on the freezer. _Did_ something happen? Maybe he was exhausted and went to bed early, but he was usually good at undressing before falling into bed.

What other explanation did he have?  Abruptly waking up in bed had all the makings of a nightmare. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that what happened was real, but until he had proof otherwise he couldn’t do much about it.

With a disgruntled grunt, Brian checked the time on his phone, alerting him that he was going to be late for school. “Aw shit.”

Snatching his backpack, he ran out without another thought.


	5. Plans in Motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please comment and kudo if you like my story!

The bell rang like clockwork at 9; never missing its chance to tell Brian how late he was for school. The zombie had booked the first several blocks until his legs grew tired and he had to jog the rest of the way. By the time he entered into Creatures of the Damned he was slightly exhausted and covered in sweat. The teacher always glared whenever he was late, but he only paid attention to the aroused look Damien eyed him in the back. He smirked.

After class he waited for Damien, taking his hand while the demon punched his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “Feeling better today?”

“A bit,” Brian lovingly twisted his hand, relishing in his grunt. “Something weird happened. I dreamed that strange lady came back and I couldn’t move.”

“Weird. Have you tried not thinking about it?” Damien cocked a cocky smile.

Their walk down the hall had everyone giving them a wide berth. Brian wished he could shrug off the lingering apprehension. “I don’t think it was a dream. It felt too real but I woke up in my bed the moment she touched me.”

“Maybe I should stay over tonight, in case you need someone to protect you from the boogie man.” It was mainly a tease, but it brought a sense of calm Brian needed.

He chuckled, leaning into his arm. “Maybe you should.”

“Is that an invitation?” They shared a kiss just as the next bell for class rung. Damien lifted up Brian’s hand, biting into it as his way of giving him a goodbye kiss. “By the way, love the new ring.”

Damien’s words confused Brian, who didn’t have time to ask before Damien slipped into his next class. He checked his hands, unable to see a ring only to pull out his phone to check his face. No ring either. Everywhere the camera sought he found no such accessory, utterly confused now by the statement.

He didn’t have much time to think once he noticed Martin doing his usual rounds for skipping students. He let the matter drop and hurried to class.

Next period was just as dull. Their teacher assigned them to work individually on their diagrams of Cthulu’s body. Brian mindlessly tapped his pencil on his paper, daydreaming to ease his nerves when the empty seat beside him was taken.

Liam eyed him annoyingly. “So?”

Brian continued to tap his pencil, quirking an eyebrow. To say him and Liam were acquaintances was an overstatement, considering they had nothing in common. Liam grew more agitated at his nonverbal language. “You going to tell me what was up with last night?”

Brian stopped his tapping, his expression wary. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The vampire narrowed his eyes. “Please, your stealth tactics were less than impressive. I clearly saw you on my patio, though, how you got up there is impressive. Did you take the elevator and crawl around the side of the building? Or did you parkour to the top?”

Brian sat up.  “I didn’t do any of that.”

“Seriously, Brian, enough with the façade. Your ego is showing.” Liam rolled his eyes. “I just want to know what you plan to do with that photo. Blackmail me? Use it in some sort of humiliating way?”

Brian was all for admitting when he committed a crime, but one thing that peeved him was getting pinned for something he didn’t do. His anger flared, feeling the heat of his gaze when Liam lost some of his cool. “Whoever you saw on your patio last night wasn’t me.”

“And how are you going to prove that?” Liam returned the glare. Brian retrieved his phone, taking him to his gallery. Liam peered over to watch while all the photos manifested.

Shock was all he felt. Not only did he have the picture Liam was talking about—with him staring dumbfounded at the camera while the glare of the glass door revealed his reflection—but he also had a slew of photos from everyone he knew. From Vicky playing with some action figures in her room to Oz napping on his sofa. He even had one of the Coven talking around a box of pizza, all of the shots seemingly taken from windows. All of it he couldn’t remember.

 “Hm, I must say, if you’re going to lie about doing this at least delete the pictures first.” Brian nearly growled at Liam’s dead-panned tone. His hand ghosted over the phone. “Did you take everyone’s photo? What are you up to?”

“None of your business,” Brian pushed his phone into his pocket, rearing his head at Liam.

The vampire didn’t need to be told to leave, getting the strong warning. With a scoff and a small glare, the vampire left to his seat, leaving Brian to mentally freak out inside his head.

Something was definitely wrong, that lady did something to him. What he couldn’t fathom. He could be a sleeper agent for all he knew now, primed and ready for action at the single utterance of a word. It shook him to his core so badly that he stood up, loudly proclaiming. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

He didn’t wait for permission, shoving through students who weren’t quick enough to move their chairs to exit out into the hall. He brought into a quick run, needing someplace to hide and try to process everything.

He didn’t get far before he saw Damien getting a drink of water. Damien lifted his head curiously. “Brian?”

Brian tackled into him, burying his head into his collar. He didn’t wait for Damien to reciprocate. “Something’s wrong with me. I think I’m being controlled.”

“What?” Damien still sounded confused, but nothing in his tone said he wasn’t taking it seriously.

“Last night I went to everyone’s houses and took pictures of them. I don’t know why and I can’t remember anything that happened. Just that lady touching me.”

“Calm down, B.” He didn’t realize how tightly he was hugging Damien until the demon had to forcibly remove him from his body. Damien grasped his shoulders. “You remember anything about the woman? Maybe we can track her down.”

“She was—” Brian had the depiction in his head but his mouth shut the moment he tried to say anything. His eyes widened, muffling through his lips while trying to pry them open. Lips pulled back but his teeth were barred, his voice caught. He threw his arms down as his voice unlocked. “Dammit!”

“Yeah, this is a problem.” Damien pulled Brian closer, snaking his arm around his shoulders. “Tell you what. I bet that bitch has other plans for you tonight, so I’ll stay with you until she calls for you. Then I’ll follow right behind you, get to the source and decapitate it. You go free, we have some sexy sex and spend the rest of the night at my place deciding what to do with the corpse.”

“Yeah … sounds good.” Brian’s tone contradicted his words as he lingered on toxic thoughts. Even with Damien’s hand on his, it didn’t bring about any sense of calm.

“No more worrying, okay? It doesn’t look good on you.” Brian hardly felt his lips on his cheek. “Damien Fucking LaVey has you now.”

If only he was the only one.

* * *

School passed by slowly, with Brian dreading the night with every fiber of his being. Damien drove them both to their place via Nancy, which he didn’t even complain about. “Wow, you’re really shaken up by this.”

Brian nearly missed Damien’s remark, focusing on the sights passing by. Damien worked circles into his upper back. “Don’t be such a wimp. I got this, so don’t fall apart on me.”

Arriving at his apartment, Brian was the first to enter. He ushered Damien in while heaving his backpack onto the nearby couch. Damien eyed the leaning tower of Chinese to-go boxes in the corner. “Has your place gotten dirtier?”

Brian eyed the tower, a faint smirk coming to his lips. “I thought you liked dirty things.”

Damien’s tail flicked, eyes hopeful. Damien sat next to him on his nasty couch, his hand possessively grabbing his thigh. “You’re right. I do like dirty things and you’re too clean for my tastes.”

They shared a passionate kiss, Brian feeling Damien’s tongue press against his lips. The fire wasn’t entirely there. He pulled away, leaving a slightly disappointed Damien with his tongue still hanging. “Not feeling it. Sorry.”

Damien took back his tongue, huffing. “Ugh, another reason I hate this bitch.”

While Damien silently fumed, Brian took another look at his hands. “Where do you see my ring?”

He fanned out his fingers for Damien, who eyed him cautiously. “Right there.”

Brian frowned. “Point to it.”

It was clear Damien didn’t understand but complied nonetheless. His finger pointed to his left index finger. “See?”

“No, I don’t. That’s the problem.” His right hand trailed over the left. He felt an unfamiliar presence near the bottom, the ring, but his eyes couldn’t locate it. “What does it look like?”

“Looks like a skeletal band. Kind of like a finger?” Damien picked up his hand, eyes lighting up. “Maybe that bitch is controlling you through this!”

“That’s what I think.” It’d make sense the woman wouldn’t want him to try and take it off if he noticed it. He grasped the invisible object only for his mind to jolt the second he thought of pulling. His hand let go. “I can’t take it off.”

“Let me try,” Damien took his hand, fingers curling around the ring. Brian’s response was a hard slap to the demon’s face. Damien jolted back. “What the fuck?”

Damien tried again only to get an uppercut on his jaw. “What the fuck, Brian!”

“I’m not doing it!” Brian held his hand up in apology.

The third time Damien caught Brian’s fist. Not the knee that slammed into his stomach.

Brian couldn’t help jumping off the couch, fists primed for a fight. Damien was just as quick to his feet, brandishing his knife. “Screw this! I’m cutting that finger off!”

“Whoa, wait!” Brian dodged Damien’s wild slashes. His hand caught Damien’s wrist mid-air. “Even if we cut it off I don’t think that’ll solve our problem. We need to get rid of the source.”

“Augh, fine!” Lightly pushing Brian back, Damien flopped onto the couch. “But if you hit me again I’m coming for you.”

Brian could only sympathize, pulling Damien close to him when they sat back down.

They decided on a romantic comedy to sit and mindlessly watch together while they waited. Damien popped back home to retrieve his axe grinder, polishers, an axe, some guns and his newly gifted dagger for the ensuing fight, paying more attention to sharpening his blades then the funny, inconvenient plot the movie’s protagonists got themselves into. Brian, however, lingered in his mind, wondering when he’d black out. He felt like the robed figure would show up any second to retake control over him.

The night droned on well into the early morning. Damien had fallen asleep with his head on Brian’s shoulder, with the zombie having a hard time keeping himself awake. His eyelids fluttered as he continued to stare at the screen, which was on their fourth movie now. Hope was slowly building up inside him; maybe they would get through the night without anything happening.

Then he blacked out.

* * *

 

Damien was woken up from his nap when he fell to the ground. He swiftly got to his knees to notice the front door close, Brian missing. He leaped over his coffee table. “Hey, wait up!”

It took Damien a minute to strap his axe to his back and his guns into his holsters, leaving the second everything was sturdy and secured. Brian hadn’t gotten too far, having made his way down the stairs just as Damien caught up. Stealth would probably be the best tactic at this point, but Damien was too itchy for a fight to just sneak around. He was unregretful as he called out. “Brian!”

The zombie stopped to stare. His pupils were dull and dim. “Least it’s easy to tell when you’re being controlled.”

Damien expected as much when Brian threw a punch his way, spinning around the zombie and kicking him in the back. Brian stumbled forward while Damien held his empty palms up. “We can fight if you want, but you got orders to fill, right? Better get to them.”

There was confusion in Brian’s eyes, something Damien wasn’t expecting in his zombified state. He stood a little taller, head turned in one direction as his body followed. Damien groaned. “We’re going to walk? Seriously?”

With no reply, he groaned louder. “Fuck this. I’ll be right back.”

He left Brian as he sped back to the apartment. Brian didn’t seem to comprehend Damien had left. His shoulders slightly swayed with the wind when a sudden light on him made him pause. The roaring engine of Nancy replaced the soft whispers of the wind, Damien honking his horn at Brian. “Get in.”

Brian seemed hesitant to do so until Damien dragged him in kicking and punching. The zombie even tried crawling out until Damien used his jacket to pull him back into his seat. He fastened his seatbelt to keep him from jumping out. “Trust me, this’ll be a lot faster. Just tell me where we’re going.”

Brian stared back at Damien with a deep frown as Damien just honked Nancy. The message seemed to finally hit Brian on the head, who, instead of using his words, pointed forward.

Damien followed his silent directions as best as he could, garnering Brian to start smiling. Their trip was cut short when Brian suddenly pointed madly at one house in particular. It was settled on the outskirts of the city, where fields of grass kept the neighbors away. Brian hopped out of the car as Damien shut his. “Finally. So this is where they’re hiding?”

Brian nodded his head, finally understanding what Damien wanted. “Sweet.”

He fished around in the back of his car, happy to find a souvenir from their bank robbery. Brian was always terrible at cleaning out the weapons in his car. He clutched the grenade tightly, pushing Brian—who was attempting to break down the door—out of the way. “Might wanna take some steps back.”

The zombie shuffled back just as Damien kicked the door in. His teeth gripped the key as he forced it out of the grenade and tossed it inside. He ran like mad, grabbing Brian’s wrist and trailing him back over to the car just as the explosion went off.

Damien felt a rush of adrenaline at the satisfying boom, hopping over the hood of Nancy as him and Brian rushed in. The front entryway had been blown to pieces and part of the kitchen was on fire, masked by a thick blanket of smoke. The fire lit up the previously darkened room and showed Brian running over to a bookshelf that wasn’t incinerated by the fire. “Secret entrance? I dig it.”

“What the hell?” The three unified voices sickened Damien’s stomach. The coven stood at the end of the hall leading deeper into the house, still clad in their pajamas. Their faces were stricken with horror that turned into a nasty sneer at the sight of him. “Damien LaVey? What did you do to our house?”

“ _You’re_ the ones behind this?” His hand tugged his axe free from its hold, grimacing. “I should have fucking known! You freaks are always about ‘saving the world’ and insulting us! Get that freaky ring off Brian now!”

“What are you going on about?” The three witches yelled just as strongly. The smoke whipped as Brian charged straight at the girls. Joy held out her hands. “ _Protege eum_!”

A green circle sparked to life in front of the three just as Brian smashed into it. A flash of pain flashed on Joy’s face trying to keep Brian back, who pounded madly on the barrier. “You’re in on this too?”

Hope and Faith rushed out from both sides, placing their right foot first and throwing their hands up. “ _Flagellum captivitatis_!”

Red and blue strings of light shot out of their palms to wrap around Brian’s wrists. He tugged at the hold as both girls pulled the light down and stomped their right foot over the ropes. It brought Brian onto his knees, struggling to get back up. Joy lowered her barrier, anger flaring in her features. “What’s _wrong_ with you two? You come into our house and nearly destroy it! What did we ever do to you to deserve that?”

“Get off him!” Bullets shot through the smoke, causing Faith and Hope to abandon their hold to place up their own barriers. While Damien leapt at the two—gun in one hand and axe in another—Brian snatched Joy’s throat the moment he was free.

The witch clawed at his hand as Brian rose to his feet. “L-Let go of me!”

“Eos,” Joy ceased struggling at Brian’s cold tone. “Mother misses you. Where are the orbs?”

Joy gritted her teeth, a fiery pain smoldering in her eyes. Her voice was hardly intimidating through a clenched throat. “Where. Is. She?”

His choke tightened, wrenching a pained cry from her lips. Her palm pressed up against his chest. “ _Ignis_!”

Fire engulfed Brian’s chest, who let out a frightened scream. With her throat free Joy took one heave of air and ran back down the hall. She could loud footsteps right on top of her, turning into her bedroom.

She shoved her door in his face, locking the door and scampering to the other side of her room. The loud knocks threatened to crack the door as Joy scoured through her things. “Where is it?”

A sickening crack made her turn and gasp as the door flew at her. She ducked while it soared over her head and smashed into her mirror, fingers curling around the desired object. Brian wrenched her arm and pulled her towards him as she raised a huge squeaky hammer over her head. “Hammer of unconsciousness!”

The squeak was loud and blow soft, but it sent Brian’s eyes rolling into his head. He dropped like a brick on the ground. Joy breathed heavily and quivered while clutching the squeaky toy close to her chest.

“Joy!” Her attention went to the doorway, where Faith and Hope scampered into the room just as a blast of fire scorched the hall and licked at the back walls. Damien stormed in, axe raised.

His anger billowed at the sight of Brian unconscious at his feet. “I’ll fucking kill you all!”

Joy pushed Hope and Faith back, casting her barrier again as Damien’s axe bounced back. “Stop! We’re not responsible for this!”

Damien kept his axe primed, growling. “Then who is?”

Joy didn’t speak, biting hard on her lip. Just when Damien noticed that Hope was gone did he hear a loud squeak and a bop on his head. He went down without a single thought.

* * *

Brush stroked on a blank canvas, rewriting the white with streaks of orange. Liam yawned as he mindlessly let his hand freely dictate where the piece would go. Casually, he glanced at the clock, the time gaining another yawn from him. Perhaps it was time for him to go to bed.

Dipping his brush in his murky paint water, Liam floated up from his stool and over to his bedroom. His hand brushed the doorknob when he heard a sliding noise. He turned his head over to his patio, noticing the glass door was cracked open. Curiously, he floated over to close it. He lingered near the door, listening attentively for anything to clue him as to what was going on.

A light skittering had Liam looking over at the kitchen. His eyebrows slowly fell, frowning. “Who’s there?”

He made his way over to the kitchen when a loud tap took him back to his patio. He just about had it with this roundabout when he noticed who was beyond the glass. His entire body locked up, gasping loudly.

The robed figure grinned madly. “Hello, Selene.”

Liam turned back in time to see a skeletal hand leap from the counter towards his face, the index finger missing.


	6. Something Greater Than Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, after playing through Hope's ending, I thought that I wouldn't be able to tell the story I wanted. However, it just so happens that Season 5, the one Liam joins in, has no context to it. I had to change some things around but I can move forward with my story! Huzzah!
> 
> Also, in case it wasn't obvious from up top, I'm going to be covering some very spoilery things for the game, Hope's secret route, the Coven, and Liam, so if you want to see that for yourself, go play the game! Otherwise, enjoy the chapter! Please comment and kudo if you like it!

Brian couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy. He ran through fields of grass, happily screaming as he tugged with him a stuffed plushy of a turtle. Large hands grasped him from behind, hoisting him up upon large shoulders. He laughed and screamed, little hands running through the hair of an older Asian man. He beamed happily up at Brian when a soft voice called to them.

A young woman ran towards them, carrying a small wicker basket. Her black hair was placed in a bun, blue eyes endearing and loving. The man and the woman embraced as Brian smiled happily down. The man suddenly jerked away, hand over his mouth as he started to cough. The woman’s hand hovered over his shoulder as he pulled away, chunks of stone in his hand. Brian didn’t understand what was going on, he and the woman sharing a frightened look. She clasped his hand with the turtle only for the world to shift.

He walked down the busy streets of a bustling city with the woman. His head reached her waist, a worried look on her face as the faces of the people they passed all wore angry masks. The world shifted again and he was up against a wall with several kids surrounding him. He threw a wild punch only to widely miss, the kid swinging back and knocking into his jaw. He spun and felt himself grow older, wiping the blood off his lips to then come back at the teenager brawling him.

The hard slap came from a pile of bills set on a table, Brian staring up at the woman, who hid her face in her hands. Fingers dragged away to see the bags under her eyes and the settling hopelessness in them. The living room morphed into a small dorm bedroom, where he peeked upon a conversation the woman was having with a dark robed individual. Their yellow eyes turned to him, blinding him and making him stumble into the room. The woman clasped his arm, the figure gone as tears ran down her cheeks. They were shouting about something but Brian pulled away, grabbing his coat and storming off.

The crash of the door ended with a ding, Brian walking towards a lit up boxing ring as dozens of people cheered and jest. His opponent was much larger in size, Brian smirking and throwing the first punch. The bell kept ringing with each strike until the opponent landed a hit.

He stumbled back, suddenly out on a cold street as a gang of students cornered him. _Ding_ , another hit. _Ding_ , another stab. Brian fell to his knees and coughed, watching chunks of stone fall from his mouth. Words could be made out on them, a giant R along with a smaller T. He stared down in horror and up at his attackers. He’d never forget the grimace on their faces as the knives came down.

_Ding, ding, ding!_

* * *

 

The first thing Damien felt was his hands uncomfortably positioned behind him. Upon trying to pull them away he heard the clack of metal and a force keep them together. His eyes opened, sitting up to realize his feet were in the same predicament. Brian laid several feet away in the same position, reigniting Damien’s anger. “Brian!”

“Don’t move!” Damien reared his head at Joy, whose glare was stern and cold. They had been moved back into a room Damien wasn’t familiar with; with bookshelves and rows of ingredients lining the walls and a large cauldron in the middle of the stone floor. The witches were dressed in their normal attire. Hope held a huge bucket in both hands, eyeing him the most of the three.

Damien tested the chains, scoffing. “You think this is going to hold me?”

“No, but if you try Hope won’t hesitate to douse you in holy water.” Joy then gestured over to Hope, who seemed the most pissed off.

“Don’t even try!”

Holy water was not something Damien wanted burning his skin, the only thing burning it was his utter embarrassment at Hope’s rage. Regardless, he spat at their feet. “You’re doing a shitty job of convincing me you didn’t do this.”

Joy crossed her arms. “Before we tell you anything you need to answer our question. Why did you break into our house and attack us?”

“I already told you!” The chains clacked as Damien reared his head forward. “Someone is controlling Brian! I followed him to see if I could figure out who it was and slit their throat.”

“What do you two think?” Joy glanced between Faith and Hope, who seemed a little less convinced.

“He could be lying.”

“I say we douse him in holy water, anyway,” Hope grumbled. “Do you know how much damage you did to our house? It’ll take hours for us to fix it with our magic!”

“I was just trying to save my boyfriend!” Damien felt the need to explain. “Not that you would understand what it’s like to love something.”

 “Hey!” Joy barked at the two. “As much as I hate it, I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Finally!” Damien rolled his eyes.

Joy didn’t look any happier, letting out a drawn-out sigh. “The figure you’re looking for is Theia.”

“Great. Would you like to add any more information to that?” Joy held out an arm to stop Hope from throwing the bucket.

“Theia, or rather, Jennifer, was a High Priestess of the Sanctuary of the Goddess; a place where witches of all ranks and ages came to train and pray. One of Jennifer’s duties was to watch over our group and give us advice whenever we were lost or confused. She was a mentor and a friend … until something happened and she disappeared. When she returned she had come back a crazed, lich overlord and sought to destroy everything and rebuild the world to worship her as a deity.”

“A lich?” Damien sat back down. He hardly cared about the rest of the exposition dump. “If she’s so all powerful, then why is she just fucking around with Brian? Shouldn’t there be some sort of undead army destroying the town?”

“We don’t know,” Joy cast her glance over to Brian. “In our season 5 finale we couldn’t locate her phylactery, so we instead used all of our magic to siphon her power into four glass orbs and scattered them across the globe. We didn’t know what happened to her after that but it looks like she’s getting desperate to reclaim her power.”

“Phy-what?”

Faith cut Hope off before she could speak. “It’s what a lich hides their soul in. If you destroy the phylactery, you kill the lich. Otherwise, the lich is invincible and immortal.”

“Your plan wouldn’t have worked even if you did find Theia.” Joy rested her hands on the cauldron behind them.

Damien eyed Brian again. “So if this Theia person doesn’t have any power, how is she controlling Brian?”

Faith stepped over to Brian and held up his finger with the bony ring. “Liches can directly control an undead so long as they are touching them, with or without magic.”

“We tried prying it off but that didn’t work.” Joy glanced to Hope. “Did you ever find that amulet?”

“I think I know where it is.” She gave her bucket to Faith, already taking off for the ascending stone stairs.

Damien’s voice made them stop. “I can get it off.”

“You can?” The three spoke as one, with all three warily glancing at one another.

Without a word they suddenly came to an agreement, with Joy moving over with a key now in hand. With the chains gone, Damien rose to his feet and procured his gift from Brian. “Time to test this baby out.”

He whistled as he crouched beside Brian and laid his hand on the cold floor. A quick chopping motion severed the finger from Brian’s hand, producing with it a fresh wave of blood and splintered bone. The three witches gagged. “Augh, gross! How could you do that?”

“What? He doesn’t feel pain.” Damien picked up the detached finger, wedging his knife between the bone and skin. With a few tries, Damien got the bony digit to pop off and clatter to the ground. The results were instantaneous.

* * *

 

Brian snapped awake, body jostling as he tried to get his bearings. He gasped loudly, eyeing the unfamiliar room. “Huh? What? Where am I?”

“Welcome back,” Damien’s smooth voice calmed him immensely. He felt his fingers play in his hair along with a gentle kiss on his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Little sore,” He shifted his weight only to feel tight bonds restraining him. “Am I tied up?”

“Never bothered you before,” Damien cheekily grinned, gaining that cocky look in Brian’s eyes.

“Ugh, don’t flirt here.”

Brian was taken out of the moment when he noticed the coven. “Why is the coven here? Did you kill that lady?”

“Change of plans,” Damien held up his hand, Joy catching on and throwing him the key. He used it to unlock Brian’s locks, who silently thanked him and stretched. “Your stalker’s a lich.”

“Fuck,” Brian swore, rubbing his wrist when he noticed the spilling blood. “You cut my finger off.”

“Hell yeah I did,” Damien held his prize gleefully. “Your knife works great, by the way. Cuts through bone like butter.”

Clicking caused them to glance down. Brian nearly jumped into Damien’s arms at the sight of the bony digit inching its way across the ground, its destination seemingly set on Brian. Damien pushed Brian back, lifting his heel. “I got it!”

“No!” Joy toppled Damien onto Brian. Faith was already over with a glass jar, scooping the finger up and sealing the top. It clacked on the side for release. “We can use it to track Theia.”

“Can’t I kill something tonight?” Damien regained his balance, pulling on his jacket irritatingly.

“Do it elsewhere,” Joy took the glass jar and then eyed the two. “You can go now.”

“That’s it?” Brian asked, still trying to get his bearings. He felt he’d missed something.

“Theia is our problem. With her hold over you gone, you have no stakes in this battle any longer. If she does stalk you again give us a call but otherwise you’re not needed.”

They were quick to hand them a slip of paper with Joy’s number and push them out what was left of the front of their house. Brian’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head seeing the damage while Damien didn’t care to glance at it. He swung his keys in his finger, unlocking Nancy. “Man, what a wasted night.”

Brian slowly followed; slipping into his seat and watching the coven’s house disappear in the distance. “Just what did I do?”

“Don’t take the credit for that; that was all me.” Damien slyly smiled. “I guess you were looking for something? I didn’t really keep many tabs on you.”

His hand flexed off of the steering wheel. “But man, we’re finally done with that. All in all, it was pretty boring. Wish it had more bloodshed.”

Brian stared at where his index finger had been cut off, flexing his hand. “… I don’t think it’s over yet.”

* * *

 

Since it was so early in the morning Damien stayed for the rest of the night. Brian crashed the moment he hit his bed, dreaming of eyes watching his every move. He didn’t dream again of those scenes, wondering if they had any significance at all.

Of course, as was par the course, both slept in too late and slammed on Nancy to get them to school on time. Principal Giant Spider waited for them at the top of the steps when they arrived, with Damien trying to bullshit his way through an excuse. It always made Brian laugh, feeling as though things were finally starting to return to normal. The coven saved the world on a seasonal occasion; whoever this lich was they’d handle it. He had no part in it anymore.

While Damien was escorted to history by Martin, Brian was led to his Lore class by Principal Giant Spider. He was mainly shoved into the room, putting on his usual bored look while the teacher scolded him. Whatever.

He scanned the crowd of faces, noticing Vicky give him a small wave to the side of her textbook. He would have waved back had it not been for the intense stare he got from Liam in the back. It felt like he was digging around in his soul, searching for something that made Brian squirm. He tried to ignore his stare and sat in his seat, feeling his gaze leave him a few minutes into the lecture. He even started to answer most of the teacher’s questions in typical Liam fashion. He was probably still upset about his photo being taken yesterday.

When the bell rang and everyone was set to go did Brian feel the gaze return. He nearly jumped when his voice was right in his ear. “Brian.”

He eyed him warningly, not in the mood to hash out yesterday’s conversation again. Liam’s usual bored look was present when he uncharacteristically smiled. “Good, you’re here. I thought you’d skipped again with Damien. Good to see you’re not completely sealed inside your box mentality.”

Brian didn’t comment on that remark, grabbing his backpack and getting up from his seat. Liam floated up. “… Aren’t you going to ask me what I want?”

“No,” He’d gotten down a few steps when Liam blocked his way.

His smart-ass smile fell away for genuine worry. “Okay, I yield. No games, no taunting or berating. Just hear me out. I got a huge problem and I need your help.”

Part of Brian wanted to brush past the vampire and blow him off, but maybe the fear in his eyes shouldn’t be ignored. He sighed. “Fine. Bathrooms.”

“No, not here.” Liam fidgeted. “I’ve alerted the coven about this, but I need your help too. Meet me at Serve N Turf during the last period.”

Brian cocked an eyebrow at Liam’s strange behavior. “I got detention.”

“Just skip,” Liam’s tone was snappy. “Not like you’re not used to it. If you help me with this I’ll make it worth your while.”

Brian had no reason to help Liam, yet the idea of a big favor was appealing. “Fine.”

Liam’s smile returned. “Many thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

With that, the vampire picked up his stuff and exited the class. Brian soon followed after, hoping he hadn’t just gotten himself mixed up in something lame or boring.

Just as he passed his locker did Brian remember he didn’t have a ride. He could always catch one with Liam but the thought of sitting in a car with him made Brian’s skin crawl. He opened his chat with Damien, typing:

_You up for skipping?_

* * *

 

They left half an hour early to make sure Principal Giant Spider or Martin wouldn’t be waiting for them at the exits. Damien was more than excited to skip, snickering under his breath as they successfully got to Nancy. “We’re going to be in so much trouble for this.”

“Nothing we haven’t seen,” Brian reassured Damien as they piled in. Nancy pulled out of the parking lot without hassle, leaving the school behind.

“Even if it is for a stupid reason,” Damien’s giddiness left him. “I thought the coven said they didn’t need our help. Not like I’d help them anyways. Bunch of freaks.”

“Liam was the one who asked for it.” Brian lit a quick joint, hoping to get high in time for when they had to meet up. “He was acting weird today.”

“I thought that was his shtick.”

“I guess,” Brian sat back in his seat, eyeing the pistol he’d left in the back seat.

 The drive to Serve N Turf was fairly short. Liam and the coven had already picked out a table by the time they entered. All their focus shifted to Damien, Hope frowning. “Oh great, it’s the spicy red baby that _wrecked our house_.”

“Did you invite him?” Joy glanced to Liam, who looked slightly irked.

“I certainly didn’t.”

“Sorry I can’t be a part of your special club,” Damien scooted one chair out with his foot and dropped into it. He propped his arms on the back. “But I didn’t ask for permission.”

Brian felt the tension in the air thicken, taking his seat next to Damien. “You never said I couldn’t bring anyone.”

“I thought that was implied.” Liam snapped but it didn’t last long. His hands gripped his head, voice on the verge of panicking. “But what does it matter anyway? What’s one or several thousand deaths going to do?”

“Calm down, Liam.” Joy moved a hand over to him. “What happened?”

Liam removed his hands, sighing. “Theia attacked me last night.”

“What?” The coven nearly jumped out of their seat. Brian felt unease at the name while Damien could care less and paid more attention to his tail. “Why didn’t you tell us any earlier?”

“I would have but losing a lich is harder than you think!” Liam spat only to reign in his anger. “She tried to get a hold of me but I managed to evade her attacks long enough to flee. My entire night was spent finding hiding places around the city, fleeing like a caged animal!”

“Thankfully, she failed.” Slowly the coven sat back down. Joy seemed the most distressed. “Just last night Brian broke into our place searching for the orbs.”

“What?” Liam turned his shock to Brian, who awkwardly looked away. “What purpose would she have with you?”

Brian didn’t feel like sharing and didn’t have to when Hope spoke up. “My guess is she picked the first undead she saw and took a chance.”

“Wait. You four know each other?” Damien interjected, tired of boorishly flicking his tail.

The four all exchanged uneasy glances until Liam broke the silence with a guttural groan. “Unfortunately, yes. I used to be a part of their team.”

 “Seriously?” Damien sat up, snorting. “Actually, I can see that. You reek of coven material.”

“ _Unfortunately_?” Hope shot a dirty glance Liam’s way. “What do you mean _unfortunately_? Season 5 was great! Our ratings were never higher with you on our team! We became the best of friends!”

“ _Friends_?” Liam showed great disgust. “Is that why you left me to rot with the lich? I was conscious that entire time, Hope! Do you know how humiliating it was to prance around for Theia, spouting the most ridiculous stuff while you couldn’t get your act together to attempt a rescue? It was pathetic!”

“We were struggling!” Joy pushed herself into the conversation. “A lot of stuff happened with The Unfaithful, Hope’s wounds from the attack, my leadership being put into question, and …” She swallowed. “And us … Things were hard. We weren’t thinking straight.”

“I’ll say. Just like you abandoning your team to join Theia! What did they call it? You ‘joining the dark side’?” Liam waggled his fingers to emphasis. “Of all the things you could have done, that was your worst decision.”

“But we got you back. We saved the day!” Even Faith was getting testy. Joy reeled back from Liam’s comments, Brian unable to tell if she was hurt or extremely pissed.

“You did … only to then show how distrusting you still were when you wouldn’t let me hide one of the orbs! There were four of them! Four of us! I thought we were a team!”

“And let Theia get a hold of you again? You’d lead her directly to it! We had nothing against you, we were doing it to be on the safe side!” Joy had gotten out of her seat, leaning her hands on the table. “That’s why Theia sought you last night. We were right to not tell you where they are! This isn’t about you, it’s about keeping the world safe!”

Liam pushed his seat out, his face inches from hers. “I was never a part of this team! You all still blamed me for what happened with the Unfaithful and that’s why you didn’t care to save me or let me hide an orb! It was foolish thinking on my part that I could cleanse myself of my sins …” His face started to fall. “Everything was my fault.”

“You know that’s not true! You’re being irrational, Liam!” Joy placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to sympathize. “We care about you just like we do each other. You took everything too personally.”

“Unlike you?” Liam gawked. He slapped her hand away. “I can see now why you chose to abandon your efforts, _Eos_.”

Brian didn’t know how to react, looking to Damien who just watched in amusement. Faith and Hope got out of their seats to push the two back. “Knock it off! What happened, happened. There is nothing we can do about that, but we can continue to work towards improving ourselves and each other.”

Joy backed down as Liam lowered his head, sitting back down. Hope procured a bright blue beaded necklace, complete with an archaic symbol hanging off the end. “You don’t think we care? We made this for you! It’s a special charm that wards off all undead possession! It took us months to find all the ingredients!”

Liam’s eyes slightly widened. “You made that for me?”

“Yes, because we’re friends!” Hope nearly yelled, the audience bursting into ‘aws’. “I already forgave you for what happened. God, can you please forgive yourself?”

Liam looked slightly conflicted, resting his hands on the table. “Thank you, Hope. I appreciate your words of kindness.”

Faith took the necklace, handing it over. “It’s yours.”

He gave the amulet a hard stare. “You hold onto it for now, Faith. Our primary focus at the moment is that Theia is back and she’s looking for the orbs. If she gets a hold of just one it could spell disaster for us all.”

“Right,” Joy’s tone was still bitter but finally looked to Liam. “It’s obvious she doesn’t know where they are but that won’t stop her from looking. We’ll perform the tracking spell tonight to locate her.”

“And then what?” Liam gestured a hand. “I thought you weren’t able to locate the phylactery. What could you possibly do to hinder her if you can’t kill her?”

“We could always trap her,” Joy glanced between Hope and Faith, who nodded their heads. They spoke as one. “We’ll do anything we can to keep the world safe from Theia. She mustn’t regain her power.”

“Sounds great,” Damien yawned and got up from his seat. “But why are we here?”

“ _You’re_ not supposed to be here,” Hope emphasized, Damien’s tail falling.

“Why is Brian here?” Joy asked Liam, who thinly smiled.  

“Brian could be a valuable asset if needed. You’ve seen how he plays in gym and whenever he and Damien get kinky in games.”

“Ugh, don’t remind us.” The coven shuddered while Brian just turned beet red.

“Hey, I’m just as good, if not better, than Brian.” Damien pointed to himself. “Where’s my invitation to the freak show?”

Liam scoffed. “You’re irrational, unpredictable, and you have anger issues the size of hell! Putting you on this team would only cause disastrous results!”

“You wanna see how mad I can get?” Damien pulled his chair out from under him only to throw it backward, shattering the window.

Just before Damien could cause any more property damage a small alarm went off, diverting everyone’s attention. Joy fished out her phone as Faith and Hope peered over her shoulders. “Someone’s broken into our house!”

“Let’s go!” The witches were out the door the next second, Liam floating along.

He glanced back. “Coming, Brian?”

“Fuck off, Liam.” Damien started.

Brian got up out of his seat, placing a hand on Damien’s shoulder. “I said I’d help.”

“Auuugh, I hate you.” They raced to start Nancy while the witches cast spells to give them temporary flight. When they reached the coven’s house it looked in disarray, with furniture having been tossed outside and windows smashed.

The girls gasped loudly at the sight, Joy pushing her way in. “The orb!”

Liam eyed all the damage with a deep frown while Damien and Brian casually came in. Damien’s laugh was bitter. “Hah, serves you right.”

Hope shot him a middle finger as she and Faith followed Joy to the back. Liam surveyed the missing front entrance when Joy rushed back, carrying with her a small metal box. The look of panic on the girl’s faces was something Brian had never seen. “The orb, it’s gone!”

“What?” Liam gained his own look of horror. “You _hid_ one of the orbs in your own house? That’s the most predictable place to put it!”

“Sh-Shut up!” All three girls shouted. “We wanted to keep one close in case of an emergency!”

“Well, now Theia has one orb!” In exasperation, he threw his hands up in the air. “That settles it; we have to look for the others before she finds the rest.”

The coven’s faces were torn, letting out a loud sigh. “We have no choice. We’ll have to re-hide them before Theia comes across them.”

“We don’t have a moment to spare.” Liam was already out of the giant hole that was their front entryway. “Brian, you should come with in case we need backup. We need to get going, post haste.”

“Right,” The coven was making their way over when Damien spoke up.

“Hold it.”

Liam turned back only to glare. “No, you can’t come. You’d just get in the way.”

“Oh, I wasn’t going to say that.” His hand dug into Faith’s pocket, procuring the necklace. Faith tried to grab it as he shoved her out of the way, marching over and holding it in front of Liam’s face. “But you wouldn’t want to be possessed while on the road. You should put it on to keep yourself safe.”

A look of worry flashed across Liam’s face, masking it under irritation. “I said I’d put it on later. I don’t need it right now.”

Brian narrowed his eyes as Damien just pushed the necklace further onto him. “Why? You afraid something’s going to happen if you do? Like you’d lose something important that you were given? Maybe a ring?”

The two had an uncomfortable staring match; Damien’s growing more confident while Liam’s shrunk. The coven looked to Liam questionably as his features grew solemn. Brian’s eyes widened when he understood the situation, noticing a potted plant at arm’s reach. He snatched it and threw it at Liam’s face, who dully dodged the attack.

A flash of yellow stunned the group, the necklace slipping from Damien’s hands onto the ground. Liam simply grinned through his hypnotic gaze. “Afraid you’re a bit late, Damien. You’re mine now.”


	7. UPDATE: Plans for the Future

Hey guys.

I got some bad news.

I’ve been at this Monster Prom game for 10 months straight. 10 months of writing every day, planning, editing, figuring out what to do best and if I need more research. 10 months of figuring out characters, creating stories, building up the world of Monstropolis and starting new tales. I told myself that I’d finish these projects I started.

But I can’t.

I had a mental breakdown a couple nights ago where I just couldn’t take the routine and pressure to do good anymore. I had taken on too many stories and the ones I had left to tackle were huge and daunting. I was so afraid of messing up that I started to hide in other stories, hoping I’d get the inspiration back but I never did. Now I realize what I had been doing for almost a year wasn’t healthy and stepped back and thought long and hard about what I needed to do.

In short, I’m putting a stop to all my Monster Prom fanfics. It’s become unhealthy and I wish I could say that I’ll be better after a needed break, but I won’t. And I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging without any response for months on end.

I do have reserve chapters that I can post if you guys are curious to see where I stopped, but once we hit the end of those that’s it. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you guys, my fans, the ending you deserved, but I don’t have it in me to continue.

To everyone that stuck around, thank you. Thank you for reading my work and giving me a chance to entertain you all these months. You’ve been a delight and I’ve cherished every single kudo and comment I’ve been given. You all are amazing.

If you guys do want to see what I had left, let me know. Otherwise, this is the last you’ll hear of me. Once again, thank you for coming this far and I hope you find other stories that you can lose yourself in.


	8. Desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Thanks to all the lovely comments, I'll be releasing the rest of what I have in store for the series. The updates will be sporadic but I hope you come to enjoy what I worked so lovingly on to give you guys a good read. I'd still love to hear your comments and kudos, even if the story goes nowhere. Please, enjoy!

Liam circled around the mesmerized group, humming. “What a bounty, what a bounty. I wasn’t expecting to take you all until much later, had it not been for your _precious_ gift to me.”

He sneered at the necklace on the ground. “What a dreadful artifact. Best to burn it when I set fire to the house. But won’t mother be so thrilled to see you all again.”

He moved in between Brian and Joy, wrapping his arms around both. “Eos, Helios, and I. The trio is back! Course, we need to do something about that ‘living’ condition you have.”

His fingers took Joy’s chin, lightly purring in his tone. “A little bite should solve that problem. But not here, I’d like to do that somewhere more … special.”

He removed his arms, floating back to the center. “Ah, but we really should get back on schedule. Enough reminiscing, onto the next phase.”

His eyes shined bright, catching the attention of the group. “ _Tell me where the orbs are_.”

Joy and Hope got to talking, while Faith lowered her head. Liam cocked an eyebrow. “That includes you, Faith.”

Head raised, Faith threw one foot back, hands coming together. She screamed. “ _Torrentem aquae_!”

A rupture of water fired from her hands, smashing into Liam and hitting him into the adjacent wall. Faith took the time to snatch up the necklace and run straight for him. Liam seethed as he spurt water. “ _Restrain her_!”

“ _Flagellum captivitatis_!” Faith felt the sting of burning rope over her wrists, Hope and Joy pulling back. Liam quickly took off down the hall, fishing out his phone.

“No!” Faith soon felt a heavy weight fall on her back, causing her to smash to the ground. Damien sat on her back while Brian began to make knots with the glowing rope. She struggled against her captors but knew if she didn’t do anything now, she’d be helpless to Liam when he returned. She inhaled deeply and readied her body. “ _Ventum est papiliones_!”

An orb of wind encased her body and grew exponentially, knocking the group to the far end corners of the room, the rope fizzling. She used what little time gained to get to her feet and sprint down the halls. The cries of her sisters sounded behind her, glancing back and veering to the right when their ropes whipped the air. Her hand clutched the necklace tightly, following Liam’s voice right to the study. When she threw open the door, she saw him on the phone, startled to see her up.

Left with no other option she body checked him, knocking the two of them to the ground. He easily shoved her off, hissing and baring his fangs while he pulled her arm up. Arm raised, she threw her other arm up and over his head, the necklace setting around his neck.

Liam screamed an unholy scream, letting her go and grabbing for his head until his eyes rolled into them and his body collapsed. The growing footsteps outside silenced.

Faith panted as her hands shook until she noticed something shift under Liam’s shirt. A grotesque skeletal hand came crawling out from his collar, trying to grab the necklace. With a grimace, she snatched the hand and a nearby leather bag, stuffing it inside and tying the strings together despite its struggles to crawl out.

Her attention then went to the phone, shakily bringing it to her ear. “Your tricks won’t work any longer, Theia. We have Liam back.”

“Is that so?” A laugh on the other end sent chills up Faith’s spine. “Selene will return to me, along with the others. I can be patient. Besides, I got a few errands to run now so mother will be out for a while. But don’t worry, I’ll be home soon enough and I’ll bring lots of gifts with me. Love you.”

The phone call abruptly ended, with Faith hanging her head as the phone clattered on the ground. She heard the door open, Joy and Hope pushing through. “Faith?”

She raised her head, a look of utter defeat on her face. “I’m sorry, I tried my best. She knows where they are.”

* * *

 

Brian was really starting to hate all the blackouts. He groaned as he snapped awake, questioning why he was suddenly standing in the middle of the hallway. Damien leaned up against the wall, holding his head. “Dammit. Should have seen that coming.”

Brian nodded, hearing a light scuffle in the back. They made their way over to the sound, finding Faith and Joy helping to move Liam onto a chair. A bag next to them rocked back and forth as if trying to escape.

“You okay, Liam?” Joy asked, having crouched to eye level as he began to stir.

His eyes cracked open, lightly hissing in pain and running a hand through his wet hair. “I can’t believe this …”

“I know, Theia has the whereabouts of the orbs now.” Joy lowered her head, shame written on her face.

“No, not that,” Joy snapped her head back up, along with the rest of the coven. Liam practically scowled. “I can’t believe how imbecilic you all are! How did you not realize I was being mind-controlled when I didn’t immediately take the necklace? _Damien_ figured it out quicker than you, and you’re supposed to be the saviors of the world?”

“It was pretty easy,” Damien grinned, furthering the pissed-off expressions on the girls. “You seem too sissy not to take a safety charm when it’s right in your face.”

“Exactly!” Liam didn’t argue with Damien for once, throwing his hands on his head. “And because of that blunder, I got the locations of the orbs! Do you realize how badly you fucked up? Because you did big time. Had it not been for me forgetting that Faith wears those hypnotic-protection glasses, you’d all be pawns just like me!”

“Wait, you knew what was happening the entire time?” Brian got a dramatic look from Liam.

“Weren’t you listening to my brainwashed self? Vampires are higher-up on the undead tier, which means it’s harder to put us into a complete trance. Zombies and ghosts get the easy way out, they just black out! But no, I have to be awake and watch myself be a plaything to that horrible lich!”

“Okay, we’re sorry!” The three snapped at once. “But you’re right. We need to be more on guard now. Now that Theia has one orb, who knows what she’ll do.”

“She doesn’t have any,” Liam responded so naturally, like he was talking about the weather.

Joy looked the most frazzled, talking together. “Then where’s the orb?”

Liam kept his stiff upper lip, even when Joy gripped the armrests. “What did you _do_ , Liam?”

“You didn’t trust me, so I decided not to trust you with what I did with it.” Liam spat. “After I left the show, I decided to try my hand at hiding one of them. Without your permission or knowledge, might I add.”

“You hid it?” Joy kicked the chair back, hitting the desk behind it. The coven spoke together. “Then why didn’t you lead Theia to it when you were brainwashed?”

“Because I thought ahead!” Liam crossed his arms, smiling. “I made sure to blindfold myself, plug up my ears, wear gloves and clamp my nose before going on my journey. I was out for a week just traveling and didn’t take everything off until it had been 72 hours after I dropped the orb. Wherever that was. It was the perfect hiding spot! Not even I could find it again!”

“You—you idiot!” The coven looked ready to descend upon Liam, who upturned his chin. “Who did this to our house then?”

They didn’t even let the question linger for a second before they answered, their tone flat. “You did this, didn’t you.”

Liam held his hands up, shrugging. “Guilty as charged. I did have fun doing it, I’ll admit that.”

 “Hey!” The coven and Liam faced Damien, who quirked an eyebrow. “You do realize that lich is probably on her way to those orbs, right?”

“… Shit.” Panic spread through their faces, eyeing Liam. “Liam, did you give her all three orb locations?”

“Thankfully, no. I was too busy stroking her ego when Faith tackled me. She did get one.”

“Then we’re heading there!” They pushed past Damien and Brian, Joy tugging Liam with.

“What about us?” Damien called out, the coven shooting him a dirty glare.

“Go home!”

They left without another word. The demon kicked a bookshelf, not caring that it buckled and rows of books clattered to the ground. “Are they serious? We’re basically involved at this point! We can’t just let someone else fuck up that lich! Fuck that noise, Damien LaVey doesn’t sit around and wait for problems to be solved!”

Brian eyed the shuffling bag on the ground, curious enough to pick it up. He held it loosely at the top, touching the part that was poking through. A jolt went through his body and he immediately recoiled. “What you got there?”

“I think its more bones.” Brian plopped the bag in Damien’s hand. He backed up when Damien untied the top. The boney hand leaped out and grabbed Damien’s face, causing the demon to startle and throw it against the wall.

It landed flat on the ground, Damien then crashing his heel down into it. “Stupid bones! Stupid lich! Stupid … gah! Fuck everything!”

He didn’t stop until a chalky mess was all that was left. Brian would consider it dead when the pile shifted, the tiny bits of bone collecting. It reformed into the hand as if it had never been smashed. Damien torched the spot when it merely waved at him. “Gaaah! I fucking hate this!”

Using the bag, they scooped the hand back up and retied the top. Brian nearly missed catching it when Damien threw it over his shoulder, knocking down one bookshelf and igniting the pile of books underneath it.

 Brian wasn’t fazed by Damien’s temper tantrum, staring intensely at the bag. “… The coven said there’s a spell that could help them track the lich so long as they had a part of it.”

“Yeah,” Damien stopped setting fire to the curtains, black smoke starting to billow through the room. A wicked grin formed on his face. “We going to do what you’re suggesting we do?”

The sudden, rising heat matched well with his bubbling anger. “This lich has ticked me off. I’m not going to be someone’s plaything or wait helplessly for someone else to fix my problem. We’re going after it ourselves.”

“Aw fuck yeah! This is why I love you.” Damien swooped in to kiss Brian, causing the zombie to fluster and his cheeks to brighten. The tail smacking his ass didn’t help, pushing Damien off who licked his lips. “We need to focus.”

 “Let’s take it one step even further. Let’s get that orb first and split the power between us. We’ll be fucking sorcerers!”

The idea was enticing, Brian smiling at the thought of being able to cast magic. His lips then dipped into a frown. “We got a problem. We’re both failing magic 101.”

Damien soon shared in Brian’s frown. “Shit, yeah. Know anyone that can cast a tracking spell?”

Brian thought for a moment, eyes lighting up. He was already on speed-dial, listening to the rings until a voice picked up. “Brian? You do realize you’re in huge trouble when you and Damien come back to school, right?”

“Like this isn’t our first time,” Brian felt his smile return. “I need you to do me a favor. Think you can come over to the coven’s place?”

* * *

 

“So uh … what am I doing?” Oz’s eyes were everywhere but on the two. He almost didn’t come into the house until Brian stepped out to usher him in, the black smoke billowing off of the back of the house not reassuring. They’d stepped out into the living room to meet Oz at the entrance. “Do the coven know you’re doing this?”

“Nope, but that’s fine with us.” Damien held the squirming bag aloft, placing it in Oz’s hands. “We need you to perform a tracking spell on the contents inside.”

Once more, Brian drew away as Oz undid the string atop. His screams of terror were on par with Damien’s when the hand met with his face, arms flailing. “Get it off! Get it off!”

Damien simply smiled, holding out a hand to catch Oz while the other ripped the skeletal hand off his face. It squirmed in his grasp. “Relax, our buddy is just a bit grabby.”

Oz lightly panted, unnerved by the twitching hand. “Do I want to know what’s going on?”

“Not really,” Brian sympathetically smiled.

Damien pushed the hand onto Oz, who held it at an arm’s length away. “Now get to tracking! We don’t got a lot of time to waste.”

Oz brushed some of his hair back, his little phobias eyeing the hand in disgust. “Uh … okay …”

It took him a moment to get his fingers pinching the top part of the hand. It continued to swing in his grip as Oz took a few deep breaths. “Tracking spell, let’s see …”

Using his other hand, he drew large circles in the air, eyes slowly beginning to glow. “From darkest depths I call upon thee, to tell me the whereabouts of who I seek. No location can escape my grasp, use this item to find them at last.”

A black aura sunk over the hand, causing it to quiver and squirm uncontrollably. Oz squeezed his eyes harder when they popped open. “Got it!”

“Where are they?” Brian moved closer just as the hand swung itself out of Oz’s grip. He shrieked while Brian jumped back, too afraid of becoming a puppet yet again. Surprisingly, the hand didn’t come straight for him. It crawled up Oz’s body until it settled on his head, attempting to stroke his hair.

Oz nervously laughed as Damien drawled. “Aw, it likes you.”

“Get this thing off me.” Oz continued to laugh, Damien scooping the hand up and depositing it into the bag. He squinted his eyes. “Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. On a small island?”

Brian was already ahead of Oz, scouring the living room for anything that could be useful. He located an old map hanging on the wall via picture frame, feeling no remorse smashing it open and pulling it out. The coven had more to freak out about than this when they returned. Brian checked the contents and held it out for Oz. “Can you point to it?”

Oz came closer to the map, peering at the small islands. Damien was getting antsy, but Brian didn’t provoke him, Oz suddenly pointing. “There. On the island of Tanigua.”

Damien peered at the island along with Brian. His smile widened. “Tanigua, here we come.”


	9. If Anything Can Go Wrong...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! This is probably the longest chapter in the story so far? And it needed some heavy revision. But I hope you guys enjoy it!

After a quick pop over to Damien’s room, Brian and Damien stepped out of the Hellfire portal and onto the thick, tall grass of Tanigua. Brian had only brought the essentials; his trusty arsenal of semi-automatics and a machine gun, while Damien had at least seven different daggers on his body and his trusty axe.

He’d ditched his favorite jacket and normal attire for a bullet-proof vest and pads, with Damien sporting his armor for when he did battle in hell. He couldn’t help admiring how sexy Damien looked in his attire, from the little dents from when he’d perform in the Coliseum to the speckled blood stains that he could never get out.

When Damien caught him staring he smirked. “Nice ass.”

“You should take a picture then. Hang it up on your wall so when you’re lonely you got something to jack off too.” Damien purred.

“Maybe I will.” Brian took his boyfriend’s punch on the upper arm, chuckling at the light blush forming on his face. He couldn’t imagine an existence where he couldn’t do this.

“So here’s what we’re dealing with,” Damien started as he hefted his axe over his shoulder. “We can’t kill this bitch, but that doesn’t stop us from tying her up and grabbing the orb before the Coven can.”

“Good plan,” Brian let up to make sure all the safeties were off on his guns. “But we got another problem.”

“Shoot.”

“I got nothing to protect me from her possessing me.” Even with the heavy-duty pads, vest, and the multitude of weapons, Brian felt naked. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“See, I thought of that and I think I got a solution.” Damien’s smile turned sinister. “I’m sure our good buddy Liam would part with his magical necklace if we asked super nicely.”

“You want us to piss off the Coven, Liam, _and_ the lich at the same time?” Brian cocked an eyebrow.

“Look, the only thing I feel bad about is fucking Liam over. Guy is my friend, but boyfriends come first and I don’t feel comfortable taking the lich on if you’re not safe.” Damien smiled. “Besides, he’s friends with the witches. I’m sure they can make another necklace for him. If not, we can try our hand at exorcising. Can’t be that hard!”

The idea got idea Brian chuckling. “You’re adorable.”

“Only for you,” Damien stole a kiss, his hand unsheathing one of his large hunter’s knives as he pulled away. “We got a plan?” Determinedly, Brian nodded his head, furthering Damien’s grin. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

Their first task was making it through the jungle they’d found themselves in. Brian kept his eye on the surroundings while Damien cut them a path, eventually leading them to a large ruined temple. Columns of rock laid broken at the steps and vines reached towards the heavens, scaling anything it could touch. They made their way up the steps, Brian taking note of the pieces of rock and blast marks on the walls.

Sparks flew up from Damien’s hand until a fire nestled in his palm. He got one step into the ruins when Brian took his wrist. “Wait.”

“It’s going to be dark as balls in there.” Damien turned back. “And who knows what booby traps are waiting for us.”

“We’re going to give ourselves away.” Brian still held his hand, with Damien snorting.

“Please, like we’re not ready for an ambush.” He rested a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “We got this.”

Brian slowly withdrew his hold, stepping after Damien as they descended the stairs beyond the entrance. Darkness overtook the surrounding area, leaving them with just enough light to see a few feet in front of them.

Brian kept one hand near the stone wall for slight support while the other rested on the machine gun slung around his shoulder. The descended for what felt like forever, able to hear rushing water somewhere close by. With every step, their plan felt less foolproof. His gut started to clench, his worries surfacing.

Were they really prepared for this?

The steps ended into a long tunnel, Brian following close by when a cold, unnerving shiver ran down his back. He turned without warning and open fired back into the tunnel. Damien jolted. “Whoa!”

Brandishing his axe, Damien let the flames overtake his whole hand to light the area. Brian’s stomach churned at the demonic shadows that played over Theia’s figure, whose clothes were tattered and full of holes. She was not even a few yards away from them.

Her sunken eyes stared directly at him. “Hello, sweetie. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Brian was pushed back as Damien stepped in front of him, his blade gleaming by the fire. “Back off, lich.”

“I don’t see the coven with you.” Theia raised her head, body lightly swaying. “Did you come alone?”

“I said back off!” A pillar of fire shot up, Theia jumping back in time to miss the embers.

“My, what a feisty temper! Playing with fire can be dangerous.” A cold snap stiffened Brian’s joints and suddenly he was upon Damien.

His hand worked the knife on Damien’s shoulder lose before he could stop him, pressing the blade up against his throat. The axe clattered to the ground as Damien kept his arms in the air. “Wh-What the hell!”

“It’s not me!” Brian shouted, forcing his arm away and failing to get it to obey.

Theia’s giggles haunted his mind. “I got a few tricks up my sleeve. Would you happen to have brought my hand, sweetie? I really could use it right now.”

Brian refused to answer, staring angrily ahead at the demonic woman. Her playful smile fell with a snap. “Don’t be mad, I’m only doing what’s best. You really don’t remember anything, do you?”

Still, he gave her no answer, despite the nagging curiosity at the back of his mind. She outstretched her hands, smile thin. “It’s me, your mother. You are my greatest joy and my little sun. And now that I’ve found you we can be a family again, just like the old times.”

His… mother? Visions of his past dreams came rushing back of the woman running towards him as a child to the one he angrily shouted at near the end. Her once healthy black hair was now greasy and messy, her fair skin green and decaying. But those warm, blue eyes were only strained and desperate, overtaken by insanity.

His eyebrows lurched up at the connection, hardly believing what he’d been told. He didn’t want it to be true, focusing on the abundant joy in the lich’s, no, his mother’s dead eyes.

 “This is how you treat your son?” The lich’s joy died at Damien’s question. He huffed, body relaxing in Brian’s tight grip. “Some mom you are. Haven’t you got the hint that he wants nothing to do with you?”

Theia drew up her lips in a nasty sneer, the love gone from her vision. “You shut up! I don’t like your tone of voice.” An insane smile gripped her lips. “So I’ll just cut those pretty lips off. Be a dear and help mommy.”

Brian was helpless to his limbs, hand rising up to do exactly as she asked. Damien caught his hand before he could carve into his flesh, pushing with all his strength as his hand grabbed his chest. Brian tried to stop him just as he pulled out a grenade and tossed it over to Theia.

He was blasted back with Damien as the bomb went off, the tunnel shaking as part of the ceiling caved in. His limbs returned to him as he shakily rose to his feet, knife clattering to the ground. “Damien!”

A small flame flickered in the cave and grew just as a hand was pushed into his face. “Relax, you just nicked me.”

Damien lifted his head, showing off his cheek. Thin trails of blood ran down a shallow cut, Brian let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He tightly wrapped his arms around him. “I’m sorry.”

“Please, you can’t take me down that easily.” Damien scoffed, though, he returned the hug as tightly. They stood up together, Damien eyeing the wreckage. “I don’t know how long that’ll hold her. Let’s move.”

They scurried off, their steps quicker than before with a new urgency. Brian couldn’t get out of his head what he’d just learned, his flight response screaming at him to turn around, find the exit and never set foot in this ruin again. Her crazed eyes were burned into his mind, wishing he’d never agreed to Damien’s date for their anniversary.

At the end of the hall, it opened up into a giant room, with several symbols on the floor and statues of multiple-armed gods on the sides. The coven and Liam stood near the entryway deeper into the temple, with glowing balls of light hovering beside them.

Damien yawned loud enough to get their attention. “Doesn’t this look exciting.”

None of them looked happy to see the two; Liam groaning into his hand while the Coven shot them angry glares. “What are you two doing here? We told you to go home!”

Damien continued down the stairs into the room, Brian following suit while eyeing the hallway every few seconds nervously. “Thought you could use some help.”

“We don’t need it! Go away!”

“Oh, so you didn’t want us to stop Theia at the entrance?” Damien faked shock, watching their faces turn as green as his own. “She would have made a straight beeline for you guys if we hadn’t blocked her way. But I guess we’ll just unblock it while we go back home.”

“We need to move faster.” Joy turned to the girls, panic in her eyes. “I thought you remembered the code!”

“I’m working on it!” Hope’s hands hovered over the door. A series of stones with symbols jutted out with a few select ones pushed in. “If I do this wrong the entire room will flood!”

 With the coven’s backs turned Damien nudged Brian, gesturing to Liam. Brian nodded his head in return, both stepping over. “How does it feel to be a part of the loser club again?”

“Please, I’m not in the mood for your berating.” Liam snapped, now eyeing the tunnel as frequently as Brian. His voice was hurried. “I didn’t want to be caught up in all this again. I left so that I wouldn’t have to go through this when she returned! I should have just told them where it was and flew off the moment their backs were turned!”

“Hey, no need to freak out.” Damien threw an arm around Liam, squeezing him. “You got us now. And we’re not going to let one of our own become fodder for some lich.”

Liam gained a slightly hopeful look until it vanished. “What are you up to?”

“What? Can’t a friend help a friend?” A low rumble went through the room as the door before them rolled away. Hope seemed especially proud of herself as the coven gestured for the rest to follow.

They ran up the steps only to be greeted by a fork. “Hope?”

“Uh,” Hope’s eyes flittered from one to the other. “I always forget this part!”

“We don’t have time to go through both if Theia is right behind us!”

“No problem!” Damien tugged Liam back over to him, squishing him in between him and Brian. “We’ll go left and you three go right! If we figure out which one it is we’ll just call the other!”

“But!” The coven weren’t fast enough in time to stop him and Damien pulling Liam down the left corridor. When they didn’t see them follow Brian assumed they had gone the other way, sighing internally.

Liam didn’t lose his suspicious stare, keeping behind the two as Damien lit the way. It’d be best to get as far away so the coven wouldn’t come running at the eventuality. He felt slight guilt for what he was about to do, but his fear of being left open to possession was greater. Brian moved closer to Liam. “You’ve dealt with Theia before.”

“Do you really have to ask that at this point?” Liam’s tone was flat, continuing to watch their backs.

“Has she ever taken control of you? Even though you know she isn’t touching you?”

His question had Liam pause for a moment, eyes slightly wide. “Well … liches have a natural ability to control the undead around them. The radius varies depending on how powerful the lich is, but she shouldn’t have any radius without her power.”

Liam stare was anxious. “Did she control you?”

“Nearly slit my face open,” Damien growled ahead. “Which, I’m totally murdering her once we find that pi-lactose thing.”

“ _Phylactery_.”

Brian gave a lowly nod, anxiety welling in his chest. “She also said she was my mom.”

Liam eyed him nonchalantly, but Brian noticed his hands flinch. “Theia has that mentality with all of her puppets. Even I, in my heavily brainwashed state, refer to her as such. I wouldn’t think harder than that on it.”

Brian narrowed his eyes. “You’re hiding something.”

“Who’s to say? I can’t remember everything I’m told.” Liam shrugged the comment off, about to float past Brian when he decided to make his move. His hand firmly gripped his shoulder, shoving him into the nearest wall. “What are you doing!”

“We doing this now?” Damien was coming back over as he focused on the necklace dangling from his neck. He snatched it, pressing the symbol firmly into his palm. An odd jolt shook his core, body shuddering at the electrifying sensation.

With a powerful tug, he forced the necklace off, along with breaking the string holding it together. Several beads fell to the ground but he clutched the amulet, Liam gawking. “You’re crazy! Give that back!”

Damien grabbed Liam’s head, pushing him back into the wall. “Sorry, we need this more than you.”

Brian stared at the amulet quizzically, his body still tingling but the sensation was wearing off. He stored it away in his pant pocket when Liam grabbed Damien’s wrist, peeling his hand off him. He then pushed the demon back into the adjacent wall hard enough to rattle the tunnel. Brian only had a moment to glance as Liam jumped at him. “Hand it over!”

Brian smashed into the opposite wall, managing to strike a punch at Liam’s face as the vampire’s sharp fingernails left scratch marks on his arm. Damien was soon behind Liam, grabbing his torso and yanking him before throwing him down the hall. “You wanted an out? We’re giving it to you! Now go before Theia gets here!”

“I’m not leaving without the amulet! If I run into her it’s going to be bad for everyone!” Liam's eyes lit up the hall but Brian and Damien shut their eyes in time.

His hand brushed his machine gun, firing wildly as he heard multiply yelps. “Hey, hey! No friendly fire!”

When he reopened his eyes it was to Damien curled up and standing on one foot while Liam clung to the ceiling. Damien took his hand and started running the other way, with Liam’s voice echoing behind them. “You’re not getting away!”

“Try us!” Damien laughed when the air around them fizzled. Liam appeared a second later, bashing Damien into the wall again, causing the structure to once more groan. Damien whipped out his knife, ready to find it a new home in Liam’s shoulder when the floor bristled and buckled. The stones beneath his feet gave way, leaving him and Damien falling through the enlarged hole while Liam was left behind in the air.

A sudden shock to Brian’s stomach along with his head hitting the ground told him their journey was at an end. He fumbled in the darkness until a fire blazed, Damien slowly sitting up. “Fuck, my back.”

Brian was back on his feet when Liam floated down. His disposition had changed significantly, tugging on Brian’s vest and whispering. “We need to get out of here right now.”

He swatted Liam away despite his protesting, rushing over to help Damien up. “You okay?”

“Yeah, peachy,” As he tried to get up he arched his back, shouting, “Aw fuck!”

A low rumble echoed through the room, garnering Brian to stop and stare into the darkness. Liam floated over, putting one of Damien’s arms underneath him. “Brian, other side!”

He did as he was told, helping Damien to his feet just as the ground shook. Damien held out a weak flame, expanding it to light the room around them. There, across the room rose a large, disgusting beast, all eight of its orange eyes blinking out of sync.

Adrenaline spiked through Brian’s body, causing massive panic and excitement. He shoved Damien into Liam’s arms. “Get him out of here!”

“What about you?” Liam didn’t stick around long when the beast’s growl hummed in the air. Damien protested yet was unable to stop Liam from flying off, Brian holding his automatic tightly in hand. He’d always wanted to go hunting, but never found anything that piqued his interests.

Now, however, he was more than excited.

The beast looked to have more than just four appendages, but how many was too hard to tell with what little light was there. It let out a horrifying scream just as it charged, Brian unloading his magazine into the creature while simultaneously running off to the side to avoid its direct line of attack. He nearly tripped on some jutted rocks, something behind the beast swinging wildly at him. He only registered it was a tail when it smashed into his chest and hoisted him into the air. Brian choked at the sudden tightness of his organs being smashed together, hands twitching and unable to move.

A sudden yell from above diverted his attention to a figure falling onto the beast. It reared its head back, trying to shake the figure off when a plume of fire rose up from its furry head. Damien looked downright insane through the fire as one hand gripped the head while the other was carving his name into the beast’s skull. Course he wouldn’t sit out on a fight.

Brian cried out when his heart felt like it was about to pop out of his ribcage, alerting Damien to his situation. His knife whipped through the air, sending a massive jolt that cut the tail clean off without even so much as touching it. The beast screamed as Brian fell back to the ground, working his way out from underneath the heavy appendage.

Damien slid off the beast, running over to Brian to deck him in the face. “Fucking idiot! Don’t you dare put me on the sidelines like some dead weight ever again!”

Brian felt his jaw, grinning. “Didn’t know you cared.”

Their playful banter died when the beast pounded the ground, the shock knocking Damien off his feet. Brian steadied himself, watching the beginning of the tail twitch and spasm before two new ones sprouted. A cocky grin overtook Brian’s face, running away when he saw the muscle in the beast twitch. The wall was closing in, Brain hitting it an angle and running up several feet as the tails swiped the floor. He launched himself off the wall and caught one of the tails, holding on for dear life as he was whipped to and fro. With a throw upwards he let go, working off his jacket and setting off one pin from the multitude of grenades and flash bombs he stuffed into every pocket and using his momentum to throw it down.

At that moment Damien had jumped back to his feet, brandishing dual knives. With two thick slices, the air cut the walls clean through. The beast snarled in agony as its legs were caught in the slices, waves of blood spurting over the ground.

Running, Damien jumped up and used the head of the beast to propel himself higher up, grabbing Brian’s jacket. With a gentle kiss, he threw it harder along with a fireball before it. His ascent met Brian’s descent, the demon grabbing him just as Liam swooped in and grabbed both of them.

“Run!” Damien shouted, Brian expecting Liam try to fight on the command since they weren’t _technically_ running. He heard the beginning of that technicality when the grenade-infused jacket met the burning fur.

All of Brian’s senses went white.

He skittered and hit something hard several times in multiple places before his body finally stopped. His ears rung and his entire body was warm and drenched. As he started to move he learned it wasn’t his blood he was covered in, trying to locate anyone in the darkness. “Liam? Damien!”

“Here,” It started as a groan, but when it twisted into a demented cackle Brian knew Damien was okay. Fire lit up the area, Damien painted red as the blood dripped off his skin. The fire dancing was not just in his eyes, Brian testing his limbs and seeing he was fine.

They met in a crash of frantic kisses.

Brian was already growing hard, the warm blood only spurring him further as he felt Damien bite his neck. “God, that was fucking _hot_.”

“Not as much as you,” Brian ground his erection into his, Damien’s eyelids fluttering. He could have taken him right there in their mess and he would have gladly done so when Liam’s sharp inflection cut them off.

“You fucking morons!”

Damien hardly stopped kissing Brian, a bored, annoyed look in his eyes. “You’re welcome.”

Brian turned his head to see the advancing vampire. He missed most of the bloody mess, his hair loose and hanging off the side of his head. The fire in his eyes almost the matched the one in Damien’s hand, clothes ripped and speckled with blood. His glasses were gone, leaving nothing to obstruct his intense loathing. “You don’t have any idea what you just, did you? Course you don’t, because you just blunder through other people’s problems without any consideration for what the fuck you’re doing!”

“Watch it, Liam,” Damien growled, stepping away from Brian to take a few near him. “We fucking got rid of the problem!”

“You _made_ a problem!” Liam hissed. “You _killed_ this beast! And guess what contro—!”

Liam hardly had time to finish his sentence when a skeletal hand reached out from the darkness and slipped around his throat. White light completely encased Liam’s eyes as he inhaled deeply, his body soon rag-dolling.

Brian sucked in a breath as Damien wrestled out one of the few remaining knives he had on hand.

Theia stepped into the light, her grin never wider. Her hand slipped away as one of her fingers stayed behind to wrap around one of Liam’s. His eyes returned to their normal, dull yellow.

He tugged on his bowtie, letting the yellow fabric flutter to the ground. “Ah, hello mother. So nice to rejoin you.”

“Hello Selene, sweetie.” Theia thinly smiled, sprinting away towards Brian. Damien got between them when a purple blur tackled into him with Liam standing atop.

Damien cursed as Brian had no time to run before her hand pushed into him. Brian winced, waiting for something to happen when nothing did. Theia’s demented smile slowly twisted into horror. “What?”

“He wears a protection amulet!” Liam shouted only to cry. Damien had sunk his teeth into Liam’s left ankle.

A crack in her insanity gave Brian an opportunity. He snatched her wrist, his chest on her back as his hands grabbed each side of her head. A loud snap rung through the ruins, Theia’s form dropping into the pool of blood.

Liam froze, gasping. “Mother!”

He caught Brian’s incoming fist but missed his roundhouse kick, knocking him into the sea of red. Damien pounced to his feet, grabbing his wrist. “Run run _run run_!”

Brian didn’t need to be told four times, letting Damien lead the way through a lone hall behind the beast. He looked back into the darkness to see a pair of yellow eyes slowly rise, then a pair of blue ones as they rose into the air to make way for the orange eyes that blinked out of sync.

His hands patted down his entire chest and hips, thankful to have found one last grenade on him. He snapped the pin and threw it back, having enough time to get out of the blast zone as the hall shook. With a shudder, the ceiling caved in behind them, Brian watching the air fizzle just as the rocks smashed down. A purple hand twitched through the wreckage, struggling to continue reaching. Cursing came from the other side.

“That’s not gonna hold him.” Brian breathed, Damien taking his hand as they continued running.

He had no idea where they were or if this would lead them to the orb or just a dead end. Everything in him just told him to keep running and never let go of Damien.

The darkness eroded away for light at the end of the tunnel, stepping out to large waterfalls and mossy rock. Light streamed in through the cracks in the ceiling and on an elevated pyramid shone something small and bright green.

The coven were halfway up the steps, turning with wide eyes. Joy spoke first. “Where’s Liam?”

Damien opened his mouth just as he was hoisted into the air. He cussed and screamed as he flew over the coven and near the top of the pyramid, smashing into a pile of rocks. The next second Brian was face-first on the ground as a heavy weight kept him down.

Liam licked up his bloodied arm, grinning madly. “All hail the light.”

The wall behind them exploded and a squirming mass of flesh, blood and tendrils crawled through. Theia rode atop, cackling without an ounce of sanity. The coven braced themselves, Joy gritting her teeth. “Theia!”

“Hello dears,” Theia’s voice was too calm. “Do you like my new pet? Your brother and his lover gifted him to me. I’m thinking of adding him to the family. What do you think of Ares?”

“Hm, be careful of him, mother,” Liam commented, crouching low to frown at Brian. “Damien is a crafty one. He only listens to himself.”

“He’ll listen to mother.” Theia’s smile came back. Her robes were sullied with blood. “Get your brother and help mother get her orbs.”

“You’ll never get past us!” The coven shouted.

Letting out a guttural scream, the beast charged as the coven grabbed hands. Hope and Faith held up their other hands. “ _Protege eum!”_ A rainbow of colors erupted in front of them, the beast smashing into it. The barrier flickered as the beast continued to ram into it, Faith throwing her left arm forward. “ _Syreni est aqua_!”

The waterfalls around them arched, hitting the beast and pushing it back. It stomped forward, fighting the torrent as its tails hooked over the barrier to strike at the girls. “ _Pluma pedes_!”

The barrier scattered into shards of light as the coven hopped on thin air, bringing back their individual barriers when the tails tried to spear them. Brian watched Joy call forth a bow and pull back to create light arrows, shooting them into the beasts’ side as Hope summoned forth a spear and Faith a shield.

He didn’t get much time to watch when Liam’s intrusive hands started feeling him up. “Where did you hide the amulet?”

Brian kept his mouth and eyes shut, struggling against his inhuman strength. Liam clicked his tongue. “Don’t be so stubborn, Helios. Mother needs us.”

“You’re just a puppet,” Brian growled, his hand digging into his side pocket and feeling a flashbang. He must have mistaken it for a grenade when he was stuffing his pockets earlier, thankful for that mistake.

“And so will you soon enough,” The seriousness in Liam’s tone told Brian there was no trying to save Liam in his possessed state. He withdrew his hand just as Liam snatched his wrist, activating the flashbang.

A blinding light had the weight on his back disappear, quickly scampering to his feet. He took the amulet out of its hiding place and shoved it down his throat, which was already trying to cough it back up. He forced it down anyways, Liam regaining his eyesight in time to see his throat moving.

His eyes widened only to harden. “That changes nothing. If anything, I know where it is.”

Brian jumped back just as Liam’s fingers pierced the air, his fingernails appearing sharper. Brian threw another fist as Liam caught it like last time, teeth clenched as he smacked his head into his.

It was Brian who was reeling, feeling light-headed as he saw Liam’s foot connect with his head. He rolled on the mossy ground, Liam slowly advancing when a yell took everyone’s attention. “I got it!”

Brian lifted his head, Damien having gotten his bearings and standing atop the pyramid. The orb gleamed in his hand.

Liam suddenly staggered, holding his head. He screamed in agony. “Break it, Damien!”

“With pleasure!” Damien’s tail flicked, crushing the glass in his hands.

The coven screamed with hands outstretched to Damien. “ _No_!”

Wisps of green floated up from the glass. Damien ran his fingers through it, unsuccessful in grabbing them as it then zipped over to Theia. The wisps curled around her bony digits, disappearing into the bone. Brian and Damien were left thoroughly confused as Liam just cackled. “Ah, the joys of manipulating the weak-minded.”

The coven barely had time to cast a spell when Theia’s pupils shined, her voice distorting. “ ** _Chorus mortuorum_**!”

The light seeping through the ceiling vanished, replaced by an unholy green light pouring from the cracks on the floor. Theia slid off of the zombified beast as Liam lowered himself to one knee, bowing.

The floor erupted in bony and flesh-torn hands.

Brian got back up, trying to avoid the rising dead that surrounded him. Moans and groans of thousands of reanimated corpses blended together as one.

“Do you realize how badly you fucked up?” It was Liam’s voice that Brian heard. His eyes locked onto the rising vampire, tongue cleaning his arm of the drying blood. “Because you fucked up _big time_.”


End file.
